


Pokeronpa: The Despair AU

by Pen_And_Dagger



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-09-19 08:42:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 55
Words: 32,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9431192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pen_And_Dagger/pseuds/Pen_And_Dagger
Summary: A despair-inducing au where our favorite protagonists, rivals, and other random people get shoved into the brutally despaireducational situation that is the School Life of Mutual Killing. Proceed with a coffin for your feels, they might die. There will be no trial for them.





	1. Prologue

What a strange feeling disorientation was. Standing there in the middle of an unfamiliar classroom, with no idea how or why he was here, an expressionless teen could be found trying to get his bearings. A quick search through his pockets brought the realization that his phone was missing, instead replaced by a strange device labeled “electroID”. A frown creeping its way onto his features, he decided to turn it on and see what it did. What he saw didn’t surprise him even a little. Now then, who is our protagonist? Lack-Two, Super High School Level Detective. The next pressing matter on our hero’s hands was where he was and if anyone else was here too.

With these thoughts in mind, Lack-Two stepped into the hallway, dark grey(almost black) eyes scanning for clues as to where to go. Deciding his path, his feet began to move, each step echoing in the empty space with an air of ominous urgency. Each turn took him down a hallway similar to the last, which ultimately made it difficult to determine if he was headed in a useful direction. A sigh escaping from his lips, the detective stopped to think. There had to be a correct way, but where was it? 

Just as he started to doubt he would ever find somewhere worth going, a faint sound caught his attention. It was hard to determine how many from his current position, but there were definitely a few other voices coming from down the hall. A new sense of purpose in his pace he followed the sound to a large set of doors. After a moment to compose himself he pushed the doors open to face whatever waited on the other side. The sight that greeted him was a spacious room that appeared to be a gymnasium aside from the large makeshift stage set up near the back, and fifteen other people Lack-Two assumed were around his age gathered and looking just as confused as he felt.

Whatever discussion was going on halted when he opened the door. “Huh? Another one? Geez, we’re multiplying like rabbits!” a boy with a backwards cap and bright golden eyes(was that color naturally possible?) spoke up, which quite a few people seemed to think was a dumb comment judging by their expressions. “Whatever, this seems to be everyone who’s supposed to show up. It’s about time to stop playing guess who and put names to faces.” another male with brown hair so spikey it could stab someone chimed in. To this almost everyone seemed to be in agreement that introductions were a better idea than comparisons to furry creatures, aside from the odd ones who didn’t look like they wanted anything to do with anyone present. 

It was naturally the one who suggested the exercise that started it off. “Green, Ultimate Trainer.” he introduced. The next one to participate was a mysterious looking male with red eyes, half hidden under his own cap. While he seemed to hear everything just fine, his introduction came in the form of signing. Fortunately for him learning to sign was mandatory in middle school. ‘Red. Ultimate Mountain Climber.’ he signed.

“I’m Gold, the Ultimate Breeder!”  
“Call me Will, I’m the Ultimate Psychic.”  
“Crystal, the Ultimate Pitcher.”  
“Yellow, Ultimate Veterinarian.”  
“Black, Ultimate Adventurer!”  
“I’m White, Ultimate Talent Agent.”  
“Ruby, Ultimate Charmer!”  
“Sapphire the Ultimate Survivalist at your service.”  
“...Silver. Ultimate Heir. Who’s next?”  
“Lance, Ultimate Tamer.”  
“Ultimate Baker, Diamond.”  
“Pearl, Ultimate Motivational Speaker!”  
“My name is Platinum. I am the Ultimate Researcher. Nice to meet all of you.”  
Then his own turn came around as he saw all fifteen pairs of eyes focused on him, waiting for him to say something. “I am Lack-Two, the Ultimate Detective.” he finally said.

At that moment, a strange voice echoed around the room, stunning everyone silent.

“Enough of the buddy-buddy bonding exercises! Now then, may I have your attention?”


	2. The Headmaster: A Teddy Bear From Hell?

Sixteen pairs of eyes focused on the stage, everyone deciding that if the voice wanted their attention anywhere, it would be there. For a solid two minutes everything was dead silent, no one willing to move for fear of the potential consequences. Just when a few of them started to look like they doubted anything would happen, a bear appeared.

It was perhaps two to three feet tall, one half white the other black with a sinister grin. Gold was the first to break the silence. “Is that a teddy bear?” he questioned. Lack-Two couldn’t help but softly sigh at that. What a strange question, and a bad time to ask. Said bear seemed to get offended by the question, if its flailing arms were anything to go by. “I am NOT a teddy bear! I am Monokuma, your headmaster!” he said, startling nearly everyone. “So...Our headmaster’s a talking teddy bear?” Gold then said. For crying out loud didn’t that Monokuma guy say he WASN’T a teddy bear? 

“I’m not a teddy bear! Besides the point, welcome to the new and improved Hope’s Peak Academy! Here we lovingly nurture all of your unique talents to build a bright future for the world! The catch? Well, it’s simple. The term of your stay is the rest of your natural lives! Don’t worry, we have plenty of funding, so comfort won’t be an issue!”

That’s when nearly everyone lost it, each protest drowning out the last. The next question that came was quiet, but audible. “Will we ever go home..?” Yellow asked, not even making an attempt to hide her distress. 

Monokuma seemed very happy that the question was asked. “There is one way out, and it’s simply to graduate! Of course, graduations all come with requirements, don’t they? No rewards without a little effort, that’s what I like to say!” the monochromatic bear said. “Get on with it.” Green said sharply, growing impatient. No one else said it, but they were just as impatient to hear what they would have to do to escape and return home. None of them wanted to be stuck in this school forever. 

“Fine, geez. Kids these days are so testy!” the bear said. “In order to leave, all you need to do is kill someone! It’s that simple! However you want to do it is fine! Burn, beat, crush, stab, oh I’m getting so warm and tingly just thinking about it!” he said. “And with that, I wish you all a happy school year and happy killing!”

Lack-Two was silent for a long time. Just as suddenly as Monokuma appeared, he was gone. For a moment everyone was too appalled by the "graduation requirement" to form a complete thought, let alone say it out loud. The sudden air of suspicion descended over them like a heavy cloud. With just a simple speech from a talking teddy bear, friendly strangers were now doubting each other, trying to decipher who among them would actually take it seriously. 

A silent consensus arose that it was of top priority to understand what the situation was before anyone flew into a panic. The first order of business was to figure out where that bear had gone and demand answers. Everyone who investigated the stage he previously occupied could find no signs of where he could have gone. 

Lack-Two simply observed from his position. He shouldn't have been surprised by a lack of a clue as to Monokuma's whereabouts. Too many strange things were going on that it wasn't surprising in the slightest. Aside from that, leaving this place required killing someone? There’s no way anyone could believe something like that. It just...couldn’t happen. 

Right?

Remaining Students: 16


	3. Misery Loves Company

The next morning came like a speeding train. Lack-Two stared at the ceiling for a while, fruitlessly trying to convince himself that this whole situation was just a bad dream. A sigh escaped as he decided to go out and greet the day with admittedly little enthusiasm. 

 

Day 1:

 

The sixteen gathered in the cafeteria, occupying two tables for the sake of space. A consensus was reached immediately that finding a way out was the most important thing to accomplish. They were to meet at lunchtime to discuss their findings, should there be anything useful. No one was to be alone for “security reasons”. No one wanted to say it, but mistrust was still infecting everyone. Lack-Two was definitely no exception. On the bright side, Yellow didn't look capable of doing any harm, to him or anyone else. 

 

With each new room, the detective found potential danger, be it an actual weapon, or a “convenient” structural hazard. It was Yellow who proposed turning back, which he naturally agreed to. He hadn't seen as much as he wanted to, but there were always other opportunities to explore elsewhere. 

 

The “reports” uncovered that every room in the building had hazards, all dorm rooms had at least one weapon, and no doors or windows showed signs of ever opening. Damn, this was going to be difficult…

 

Day 2:

 

After meeting once again in the morning for a quick breakfast and checking that everyone was accounted for, everyone went back into their pairs and scattered to find new places to search. Lack-Two led this time, finding a “layered” room, a catwalk with an unstable railing overlooking a wide but overall empty room accessible from four points, one door on either end of the catwalk and one on either end of the larger room. Trying the door on the other end led to the discovery that whatever was on the other side was inaccessible to them. 

 

It seemed like everyone skipped lunch, since discoveries were shared over dinner that was scarfed down in record time. The fact that Diamond made it definitely helped. 

 

Day 3:

 

Today everyone decided that it would be nice to just relax. If they truly couldn't get outside, it would be helpful to save their strength for other things. Lack-Two simply wandered to see what was going on around. Red and Sapphire seemed to be competing to see who could climb the bleachers faster, Ruby and Green refereeing. Platinum was poring through a mountain of books in the library while Yellow tried to strike up conversation. Black and White were chattering animatedly about...something. He decided not to eavesdrop and move on. Gold and Will were messing around in the rec room, judging by the protests that “that is not how you're supposed to play pool!” Lance and Silver were sitting around being antisocial together. He had no idea how that worked, but he wouldn't question it. Crystal was off continuing her investigation, claiming that giving up would be the worst decision possible. The detective shrugged internally. He headed into the kitchen for a drink, smelling something absolutely wonderful. He looked over, seeing Diamond and Pearl hard at work doing something. “It smells good. What are you doing?” he asked. The pair looked up, their everything a mess of flour and other dry ingredients he couldn't name offhand. “We're making cookies! It's supposed to be a surprise, so don't tell anyone okay?” Diamond said, looking relieved at Lack-Two’s nod of understanding. 

 

Day 4:

 

It was another dull morning. The routine was getting annoying. Get up, cafeteria meeting, wander around aimlessly. He got there early for once, watching as everyone came in little by little. Time passed and soon it was Yellow who broke the silence. “Um...Where's Ruby?” she asked looking around at everyone. No one knew how to respond, but on instinct everyone turned to Sapphire since she was always the one with him. She stood up nervously. “I'll go look for him…” she said before darting out. 

 

Lack-Two never craved dull routine so much in his life.


	4. Charmless

For what felt like hours nobody moved and it felt like everyone was holding their breath collectively. They were statues, unwilling to face the possibility that darkness could be just outside the room. Unfortunately for them the cafeteria wasn't soundproof. Yellow looked ready to faint when Sapphire’s shriek of horror reached her ears. As a detective, Lack-Two was more comfortable with the idea of death, but nowhere near enough for this. 

 

He decided to bite the bullet and go first after Sapphire to see just how bad it was. His feet carried him forward even as his mind screamed at him to run in the other direction. Then he saw her. She stood there, staring into Ruby’s room as if she saw a ghost. He wouldn't be surprised if she had. Hesitantly he moved to the door to see what happened. 

 

He shouldn't have looked. 

 

There in the middle of the room, Ruby was face down on the floor, lying in a puddle of his own blood. His hands were reaching towards the door as if he were trying to grab their ankles. The frightening part was the knife. It was plunged into his back, all the way down to the handle. Judging by the size of the handle, the knife was big. How big it was would require touching it, but that would be tampering with evidence so he didn't. There was a strange streak that looked too perfect to be an accident, but right now he had no time to see what it was. 

 

The sound of footsteps ripped him from his thoughts as the rest of the students arrived, each one having their own reaction of alarm. 

 

Then that bear spoke from the PA system, his disturbing face appearing on every monitor in the school. “Everyone please report to the gym immediately!” he said, his tone way too happy. 

 

Everyone knew they had no choice, so with a dark, tense air around them they made their way to the gym, wondering morbidly what the bear wanted this time. 

 

Whatever it was, there was no way it was good.

Remaining Students: 15


	5. Another Catch

The only thing going for the bear was that he decided not to appear out of nowhere this time. No, he was there on the stage again, looking absolutely giddy. What a sadistic creature… Fifteen distressed students stared at Monokuma, none of them having the patience or energy to deal with whatever antics he had in store. 

“Finally, a little excitement! I was beginning to think you guys were as dull as you looked!” the demonic teddy said. Silver spoke up at that. If glares could kill Monokuma would’ve exploded by now. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” he growled. “Me? I didn’t do it. I can’t touch you unless you break the rules!” Monokuma said, as if that would justify anything going on in this place. “You all know what happened. The culprit is standing among you!”

“You said the one who kills will get to leave. There are still fifteen of us here. There’s something more to this isn’t there?” Lack-Two spoke up, trying to keep the rest of the group from exploding, literally or figuratively. “You truly are quite the detective! There is ONE little catch to the whole killing thing. All of you will need to investigate for the class trial! You are all the defense, the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, the whole nine yards! Culprit, whoever you are, your job is simply not to get caught!” the bear said way too cheerfully.

“So the requirement to escape is to commit the perfect crime…” Platinum mused to no one in particular. “Exactly! Once you decide who the culprit is, you will vote for who you think it is on a majority wins system. Be careful who you choose! If you guess right only the culprit will be punished, but if you’re wrong...Everyone else gets punished and the killer walks free!” Monokuma explained. “What do you mean by punished?” Green questioned. The bear laughed a little. “Too put it simply, execution. An eye for an eye as they say!” he answered. “Now then, get to it!”

With that, Monokuma disappeared once more. Everyone looked at each other as if to verify what they just heard was real. No matter what they did they seemed to be in danger… There was no time to waste. Turning on his heel, Lack-Two made his way to the scene of the crime. It was now or never.

Investigation start!


	6. Fact Finder

The natural starting point for Lack-Two’s investigation was the body itself. He had to take a moment to compose himself before he could approach with a clear head, not wanting to leave any detail out. Speaking of details, there seemed to be two blood spots on either side that didn’t look quite as bright as the rest.

Truth Bullet Added: Blood Spots

Next order of business was that mark he saw when Ruby was first discovered. His brow furrowed looking at it. It was a vertical line, the top starting to curve in before stopping abruptly. It definitely didn’t get there naturally, but what was it?

Truth Bullet Added: Mysterious Marking

The murder weapon itself seemed to be fairly obvious. The knife in his back was definitely the cause of his untimely demise. Closer inspection uncovered a loop of string on the handle. It seemed familiar, but why..? Where had he seen this before? The detective made a note to look elsewhere for a match.

Truth Bullet Added: Knife

The examination moved from the body to the rest of the room. What was the reason for coming here? Was Ruby planning to meet with the culprit? Did they force their way in? A glint of light caught his eye from off to the side. Focusing his gaze on it, it looked like it was a lamp. A broken one at that. What caused it to break into so many pieces? Stepping towards it, he noticed that some of the fragments had blood on them. Strange…

Truth Bullet Added: Broken Lamp

One last sweep made Lack-Two decide he found everything he was going to find in there. Where he was headed next was where everyone had been yesterday. Something stopped him, the smell of something burning attracting his attention. He followed his nose to find the incinerator(since when did this place have one of those?) smoldering. Something was recently destroyed here. A frown appeared as he did a sweep for anything that could’ve been left over, without shoving his hand inside the incinerator of course. That would be stupid. His fingers ran over something soft and he picked it up. Interesting…

Truth Bullet Added: Burnt Cloth

A series of dings over the PA system made him stop and look to the monitor. “I’m bored, so time’s up! Everyone head to the elevator right away!” Monokuma declared before once again the building was plunged into silence. Lack-Two checked over the evidence he had. He hoped it would be enough...For everyone’s sake. After a few minutes of walking he joined everyone in the elevator.. No one spoke as it descended into the unknown.

The do or die trial was about to begin.


	7. Making Cases 101

When the doors opened, sixteen stands stood in a circle before them, their wooden frames simple yet ominously elegant in their design. “Welcome everyone! Please find the stand with your name on it so we can get started!” Monokuma said from a chair that looked awfully like a throne. Fifteen places were open, the last occupied by a picture of Ruby, black ribbon placed delicately around the top of the frame. The disturbing part of it was the “X” over his image that was clearly drawn with blood. Way to set the mood Monokuma.

After a minute or two of awkward circling, everyone settled into their places. The arrangement didn’t seem to have much rhyme or reason too it. It went Red, Green, Gold, Will, Lance, Silver, Crystal, Ruby’s picture, Sapphire, Pearl, Platinum, Diamond, Black, White, Lack-Two, then finally Yellow. Barely anyone made an effort to disguise their unease and confusion at the entire situation. “So...How are we supposed to do this anyway?” Black questioned. “Just debate amongst yourselves until you find the culprit, it’s that simple!” Monokuma answered. 

Lack-Two thought for a long moment. The procedure sounded simple enough, but starting seemed like the hardest thing to do. Where were you even supposed to start? No one here was a lawyer or anything, they were just students! Perhaps starting simple would be the best route to take… “Let’s start with the time of the incident. It would be safe to say the murder occurred during the night. That begs the question of who was with him around that time.” he said. Green huffed. “Me and Red were with him and Sapphire from an hour after breakfast until midafternoon. After that they disappeared off to who knows where.” he said calmly. “You saw us didn’t you?”

The detective nodded affirmatively. “Right, so Sapphire, where did you two go after that?” All eyes turned to her, waiting for an answer. Sapphire crossed her arms as if annoyed that people were looking at her so suspiciously. “We went to the library for a few minutes to look for information about this damn place.” she said, her eyes daring the group to challenge her. 

Yellow nodded. “I saw them. Ruby mentioned wanting to show her something later on…” she said thoughtfully. Silver sighed. “That’s not suspicious at all.” he said, his voice laced with obvious sarcasm. Sapphie looked pretty pissed at that. “The trial barely started! Why are you accusing me!? You have no proof I did anything wrong!” she snapped. Silver met her glare evenly. “Then show us proof that you didn’t.”

Lack-Two sighed. “Guys, before we start throwing accusations around, let’s look at what we know. The weapon was definitely that knife.” he started. “But there was a loop of string on the handle. Red, you know a thing or two about knots. Do you mind taking a look at it?” he said.

The mountain climber looked at the provided image of the loop. After a minute or two of pondering a response came in distinct hand gestures. ‘It’s a simple knot. It’s purpose is to hold up something heavier than the string.’ he signed. “Hold it up...Why would that be necessary?” Will asked. 

“Because it was hanging in the kitchen.” Gold said. “While everyone was investigating I went to get a snack, and there’s this holder in the back with a whole bunch of stuff hanging from it. They all had the same loop!” The breeder looked pretty proud of himself for the discovery.

“So the culprit got the knife from the kitchen? Who was there?” Lance said with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t seem to be amused by any of this. “If yesterday’s cookies are anything to go by, Diamond and Pearl were there…” White mused. 

“Are you trying to accuse us now?” Diamond asked, seeming more curious than upset. “Cause if you are, I’ll tell you that Lack-Two came in too.” he commented. The detective made no move to deny it. “I did, but I was in your line of sight at all times. If I tried to take a knife you would have noticed.” he responded calmly. 

“What if the culprit took the knife the day before?” Platinum suggested. “Everyone was preoccupied with finding clues so it would have been easy for someone to sneak in and take it.” Pearl looked distressed at this. “Now we’re back to where we started! And by that I mean nowhere!” he said. 

“Then let’s move on. I have reason to believe when the murder happened, the culprit was sitting on the victim.” Lack-Two said. “Huh? Sitting on him? How does that work?” Gold questioned, looking as confused as others seemed to feel. “Let me explain. If you were to look closely at the blood, there were two spots on either side of the body that were lighter than the rest. The sizes are comparable to a person’s knees. Therefore I think that the culprit sat on him so he couldn’t escape.” the detective answered.

“How does that help us at all?” Silver said sharply. “So someone sat on him, big deal. That doesn’t get us any closer to who actually did it.” 

“There’s an answer for that too. You see, there was a mark drawn deliberately on the floor. It looks like a vertical line that starts to curve in at the top. It seems to have been the beginning of a letter. The only letters that would match the shape are B, D, P, and R. Before you say anything, I checked Ruby’s hand, it was beyond a doubt him who made it.” Lack-Two said.

“White was with me all day yesterday.” Black said. “It’s true! We went nowhere near the dorms or the kitchen except for when the night announcement went off!” White said. “Red was with me past the night announcement. He couldn’t have done anything suspicious without my knowledge.” Green said. “I was with Yellow in the library most of the day.” Platinum said. 

Lack-Two lost himself in thought. He himself had witnessed all of their alibis, so he knew they were true. But something was still missing…

“Wait didn’t we say before that Diamond and Pearl were together in the kitchen almost all day? Both of them have suspicious letters AND locations!” Gold said suddenly. Will for some reason or another looked happy that he reached that conclusion on his own. 

“Huh? You’re accusing us again?” Diamond asked. “Cause if you are, I’ll tell you that it was me.” 

To say everyone was stunned was a drastic understatement.


	8. Break

Silence descended over the room group for a long moment. Lack-Two looked at Diamond. “Alright...So tell us what happened.” he questioned. Diamond shrugged. “Okay.”

“Pearl and I made cookies, but I put the knife under my clothes while his back was turned. Nothing happened until nighttime. I went to Ruby’s room, he didn’t question a thing. I went inside and waited until his back was turned, and then I jumped on him. He was wriggling about like you wouldn’t believe, I had to sit on him so he wouldn’t run off. That’s when I stabbed him and ran away to my room.” he said.

The detective frowned. “You didn’t do it. Who are you trying to protect?” he said. Diamond huffed. “I’m telling you I did it!” he insisted. 

“Then what about the lamp?” 

The baker suddenly looked confused. “What?”

“The lamp in Ruby’s room. How did it break?”

“It fell over.”

“You’re lying.”

“No I’m not!”

“There was blood on the lamp matching cuts on his face. It couldn’t have simply fallen over.”

“I...No it fell…”

“Just stop...Who are you trying to protect?”

Diamond went silent. It looked like he wasn’t going to contribute to the trial further. Everyone looked upset that he would even try to protect the real killer, knowing the cost if it worked. It looked as if they were back to square one all over again. 

Then Lance spoke up. “It obviously has to be that Pearl kid, doesn’t it? This was all a setup! Diamond was a simple accomplice meant to steer us down the wrong path!” he proclaimed.

“That’s wrong too.” Lack-Two answered. “There weren’t any accomplices. The killer acted alone. Diamond didn’t know the evidence enough to be considered an accomplice.”

Pearl looked very distressed. “What? You’re accusing me now? There’s no proof I was even there!” he said. 

“Is there? Let’s fill in the blanks then. During the day the killer stole a knife from the kitchen and hid it on their person. From then until nightfall they acted normally, behaving in a friendly manner towards everyone. Especially the victim. Following the night announcement the culprit must have left their room and knocked on Ruby’s door. After pleasant daytime interaction, it was easy to convince him to let them inside. Catching the victim off guard, the culprit took the lamp and hit him across the face with it, thus beginning the assault. After finishing the bloody deed the culprit had to get rid of all evidence pointing towards them as the culprit, but they failed to notice that Ruby had begun to write their name in his own blood. The culprit’s clothes were bloody, and had to be eliminated, so they took them to the incinerator, planning to burn anything linking them to the crime scene. They weren’t watching carefully enough, for left behind was a strip of singed cloth. They then returned to their room and joined everyone else in the cafeteria in the morning as if nothing happened. Isn’t that right Pearl?” Lack-Two said decisively. 

The blonde was frozen for a long moment. “Is that right..? Of course it isn’t right! I’m not going to fall into some stupid setup to confess to what I didn’t do!” he snapped.

Silver rolled his eyes. “Yelling really isn’t helping your case you know.”

“You have nothing putting me there! Your excuse for evidence is weak! So what if my scarf is green!? That proves nothing!”

The detective looked at him. “What did you say?”

“I said you have no proof!”

“How did you know the cloth left behind was green?”

“...Huh?”

“You could have only known something like that if you’re the one that burned it. Save yourself the time and just give it up.”

Monokuma let out his signature laugh. “It looks like it’s voting time! Everyone press the switch for who you think the culprit is!” the bear said, paws waving in the air in anticipation.

Fifteen sets of eyes turned to the switches provided at their podiums. Fifteen switches were flipped. A heavy silence descended over the group.

The monochrome bear seemed to relish the tension, taking his time to announce the verdict. “Congratulations, you were right! Ruby’s killer was Pearl!”

As much as everyone saw it coming, the shock that passed through them was clearly visible.

“Now let’s get this party started! It’s punishment time~!”

The gavel came down, pressing a red button that really didn’t need to be as big as it was.

GAME OVER.

PEARL HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	9. Silence is Golden

“SILENCE IS GOLDEN”

 

The words appeared on the screen in a fancy gold font like the title of an old romance movie. They lingered for a minute before fading away so everyone could watch what happened next. 

 

Pearl was dropped into a room stacked floor to ceiling with large speakers, each one separated by a few inches of golden material that couldn't quite be identified. 

 

Just as it looked like he was getting his bearings the speakers came to life, producing a chorus of agonizingly painful sounds at full volume. Pearl covered his ears, eyes swirling in dizzy despair. Holes opened in the gold, thin blades riding the sound waves and slicing the teen over and over. In the interest of protecting his vitals he released his ears to the mercy of the brutal noise. 

 

Slowly but surely the color dominating his body was red. His face was alive with desperation, looking urgently for a way out like a mouse running from a cat. 

 

Then it appeared. A blue button, glowing invitingly, labeled “MUTE”. Pearl staggered towards it, pushing the button down. Just like that, it was quiet. It was dead silent, still, and almost peaceful. Everyone unconsciously held their breath. The mood just forced it to happen. 

 

Pearl released the button, almost certain he got his escape. As soon as the button was returned to its resting position a new hole opened. Before he could react, a long sharp pin akin to a skewer shot out, piercing his neck right at the vocal cords, ending it. 

 

Back in the trial room there was either fear or no expression on everyone’s features. Monokuma jumped in place, stretching out. “That was so extreme! Nothing like a good execution to get the blood flowing!”

 

No one was able to speak. Everyone walked away, wanting as much distance between them and the screen as possible. They went to their rooms for the rest of the day. It was safe to say no one would sleep the night.

Remaining Students: 14


	10. A New Day, A New Adventure

Morning came and it felt impossible to get out of bed. Every time it seemed like he would be able to get a wink sleep, his mind was plagued by the gruesome events of the day before. He didn't want to move. Facing the day would mean facing how horrifyingly real this was. He felt like he had blood on his hands even though he didn't hurt anyone. Was this Monokuma’s goal? To make everyone miserable?

 

Finally the detective let out a sigh and reluctantly got out of bed. He trudged to the cafeteria for the morning meeting, unable to help but wonder if the others would even show up. He wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. The prior events just about verified that they couldn't trust each other too much. 

 

When he arrived, there were only a few people present. He couldn't see him, but the smell told him Diamond was in the kitchen making breakfast for whoever was going to come. Silver sat away from anyone, looking unimpressed and irritated as ever. That guy was going to be hard to read wasn't he? Off to the side Sapphire definitely looked like she hadn't slept a wink. He'd be surprised if she didn't fall asleep right there. Red sat with his cap pulled low, either to avoid eye contact with anyone or to get some stealthy shut-eye. Will looked a little troubled even if his mask made it a little harder to see his expression clearly. Yellow entered not long after Lack-Two, looking very distressed. 

 

Was this everyone? What was everyone else doing? ...Did they distrust each other so much already..? No, there's no way! They were probably just running late, that's all! Right? That's all there was to it. 

 

That's when Crystal came in. “What are you guys doing? Some new rooms opened up, come on!” she said from the doorway. Ah, so they were exploring the new area. They still trusted each other after all. 

 

Little by little everyone shuffled out to follow her to what appeared to be a giant warehouse. A warehouse in the middle of a school? Weird… His thoughts were interrupted by Will suddenly yelling. 

 

“Gold get down from there! You're going to hurt yourself!” the psychic yelled. Looking up Lack-Two could see Gold shifting around on almost the top shelf. He decided he didn't want to know why he was even up there. The breeder looked down. “Yes mom!” he teased with a silly grin, but climbed down anyway. “Catch me!” he then said out of nowhere, jumping down from the third shelf right onto the unsuspecting psychic, who softly grunted but managed to catch him. 

 

Lack-Two shook his head slightly, walking off to see what else was here. After a few minutes, the question became what wasn't there. It seemed like there was everything someone could be looking for tucked away on one shelf or another, aside from the ominous surplus of weapons scattered about. Then again, this was a killing game, so why wouldn't there be weapons everywhere?

 

A few aisles over he walked in on Silver and Lance apparently having an intense discussion. They looked annoyed by the interruption, so he quickly backtracked to go somewhere else. Tough crowd. Black and White looked more approachable, but they looked like they were happy to be alone together so he moved on. 

 

After a while everyone seemed to be satisfied with the “adventure” and went to the cafeteria, unified by their desire for food. Lucky for them Diamond left enough for everyone despite the unexpected change in plans. 

 

The morning held nothing extraordinary from then on. After breakfast everyone went off to do their own things.


	11. A Nice, Innocent Home Video

Just like that almost a week went by without incident. Almost a week with no death. Almost a week of peace. 

As expected, that damn bear had to ruin it. 

We were all at breakfast when he appeared like a ghost. “Geez you guys are so boring! This is all set so nicely too! An inescapable school, emotional teens, for the most part, limited rules, what else do you people need?” he said as if whining. 

It was Silver who had the snappy comeback, still apparently as testy as ever. “There's nothing you can do to make anyone kill again.” he huffed. 

Monokuma appeared to consider that for a minute. “I got it! The one thing missing from this oh so thrilling murder mystery is an irresistible motive!” he said cheerfully. “Don't worry, I'll whip something up for all of you soon!”

Then he was gone. Oh boy, here we go again… Lack-Two frowned in concern. What would this “motive” be? There's no way anyone would fall for a ruse like that! Right..?

The rest of breakfast was spent in ominous silence, as if we were waiting for the world to end. Maybe it was going to end… If anyone succumbed to the motive, it would end for someone… He shook his head. There was no time to think like that! 

An hour passed before the monitors flipped on. “Everyone please report to the A/V room! I've got a special surprise for all of you!” Monokuma announced seconds before the screens turned off again. 

A soft sigh escaped as the detective trudged to the A/V room, everyone else filing in at about the same time. 

“Welcome everyone! As promised, I got a nice shiny motive for you guys!” the bear said, his face blown up on the big screen in the front. “If you would, please find the seat with your name on it and insert the disc!”

Lack-Two lightly gulped, sitting tentatively in the seat. It was surprisingly comfortable, however odd and out of place the observation was. 

There was a disc on the table just like Monokuma said. He stared at it for a minute as if it were some wild beast about to attack. Slowly he picked it up and slid it into the player. 

The screen flickered to life. He could see a bunch of people he didn’t recognize in what looked like an abandoned apartment together. Wait, no there was someone he knew. It was his partner, an older man with a trench coat. Because of his age he was put with an older detective despite his skills. It wasn’t that he disliked the guy, that wasn’t it at all. He was nice and meant well, but...he was a little bit lacking in the proficiency department. 

Lack-Two stole a glance at the others around him. Going by the looks on their faces, there was someone here that everyone recognized. What the relationships were he couldn’t figure out for the life of him, but all he knew was there was someone important to everyone present. 

Frowning, he turned back to the screen, not wanting to see what would happen but at the same time unable to look away. There was no "live" audio, just some sickeningly sweet melody paired with the visuals, making it difficult to predict what was about to unfold. 

Then there was static for a few seconds. When the feed cut back, he couldn’t believe his eyes. These people who appeared not to know each other at all were in a frenzy of irrational, seemingly unprovoked homicide. Everyone looked almost crazed, as if desperate to finish their bloody work and find somewhere where they wouldn't end up the next victim. The song left no explanation, no reason, no hints as to what was going on. Of course, there were some people who held the weapons but tried to stay out of as much trouble as they could, clearly just wanting to survive and run away. 

The brutality seemed like it would never end. Even as the numbers dipped lower, the violence stayed intense, maybe it got worse, he had no idea. Then the video cut off completely, leaving everyone with no idea of how that horror show ended, if it did. There were still people fighting when it ended. Did they live? Did they die? Why were they there? How did they end up in such a situation? What made them kill like that? 

It wasn’t until the silence sunk in that he realized he was shaking a little. He slowly turned to see how everyone else was holding up. The dim lighting and odd angle made it a little hard to see the people farther away, but he could see Gold hugging himself and trembling, though every time someone tried to talk to him he’d put on a big smile and say he was just fine. Will appeared to be trying to help, so he didn’t worry too much longer. Silver didn’t appear too bothered, though even he seemed a little paler than usual. Red had his cap low, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking, while Green was about fifty shades of outraged and the sound of Yellow crying in fear was hard to miss. 

The sound of the door opening and closing repeatedly told him that at least a couple people abandoned ship and went off to think about things on their own. He would have joined them but he couldn’t bring himself to stand. He felt heavy yet extremely brittle, like if he moved he would break into a million pieces and cease to exist. Was this the power of the one keeping them here? Were they really so powerful they could make a bunch of civilized people attack each other like raving lunatics? Could there really be no law enforcement trying to put an end to this? Were they all really on their own?

...Is this real life?


	12. Reflection

The rest of the day was spent not so much looking for a way out, but it was more a day of recovering from what they just witnessed. Even still, there was little conversation, even from the chattier people among them. It was a heavy silence, as if mourning the world they thought they knew. 

 

After seeing that, it was impossible to determine what was happening outside the walls of this place. Everything could be totally fine and this could be just some freak anomaly that will soon be resolved, or it could be something much darker, where mass mutual murder is considered acceptable. The detective shook that thought away. There’s no way the world could suddenly fly to that end of the spectrum! Right? 

 

No, there's no time to think like that. There was too much that had to be done. They needed to get out. If they wanted to know the condition of the ones they cared about, working together was the best way. They couldn't afford to let something like this drive them apart. 

 

The night came without much fuss. Everyone shuffled off to their rooms as soon as the nighttime announcement went off. No one wanted to hang around. There was nothing worth doing. There was no one who was willing to talk. Everyone wanted to be left alone, and no one wanted to disturb anyone else. Fear and sadness reigned over all. 

 

As expected, Lack-Two didn’t sleep. He couldn’t consider it. There were only nightmares waiting for him anyway. There was no way he would have been able to fall asleep even if he wanted to. That motive was effective in the sense that it was haunting. It lingered in his mind like a stubborn fly that won’t leave the room. 

 

Almost everyone was just as sluggish as when he arrived in the cafeteria. If they weren’t exhausted, they were probably just very good actors. How could anyone sleep the night with that video in their memories? The detective humorlessly considered the thought that he’d never get a proper night’s sleep again. 

 

The only bright side to any of this was that the bear was leaving them alone, at least for now. He wondered how long it would take for him to get impatient enough to try another motive. Maybe he was waiting for the motive to truly sink in. 

 

Whatever. As long as the bear didn't get what he wanted he was fine with anything that came his way. 

 

They had the day to themselves. Then again that seemed to be the case just about every day. Monokuma wasn't kidding when he said they could do whatever they wanted. 

 

Lack-Two wandered aimlessly like everyone else. No one seemed to have a plan, a destination. No one had anything they wanted to do with their time. On the bright side there was at least a little conversation now. Brief, stilted conversation, but conversation all the same. 

 

Once the detective was alone, he started to realize just how anxious he really was. If the motive was nothing more than a show of strength, the one behind all this was truly strong. If it was encouraging murder, how long until someone fell to the urges? Who would be the unfortunate victim of their transplanted wrath? Was this the despair Monokuma loved so much? Was this the product of his sick, twisted desires? 

 

Will it ever end?


	13. The Final Deduction

The day came and went with all the subtlety of an ant. The same story with the next. There was nothing significant about the morning after that. He glanced at the time every so often. He wondered how much longer the day would last. There was a sort of monotonous boredom to the constant barebones routine. 

 

Perhaps there would be something interesting they could do today. Seeing how everyone seemed to be doing better than the days past, it didn't seem impossible. Then again there were people everywhere. If everyone could get in one place maybe something could be done. 

 

It didn't seem like that would happen for a while though. What a shame. Maybe tomorrow it would work out? To an extent he was interested in just letting it go, but at the same time he wanted things to happen. Nothing bad of course, just something to pass the time. 

 

Lack-Two sighed faintly, deciding to walk and see if there was someone who would be willing to hang out and do something. His eyes landed on a slightly open door. There? He figured there was as good a place as any. 

 

He pushed the door open enough to enter, closing it behind him. Maybe that wasn't the smartest plan now that he thought about it. The room was a little too dimly lit to get away with it. Not that he couldn't see at all, it just wasn't very clear what and where everything was. 

 

The detective took a few steps inside, looking around thoughtfully. Then he tripped, dive bombing to the floor almost like how a penguin slides on its belly on the ice. He turned around to see what he tripped over just in time to see what looked like a foot disappear from view. Odd…

 

Just like that the lights went out completely. He bit his lip anxiously, carefully moving to get to his feet. Before he could, there was a sudden weight on him, pressing his back against the floor. 

 

He would've called for help, but hands around his throat stole his breath. His efforts quickly shifted to trying to get them away so he could run. Whoever it was had a strong grip, but he could feel his nails draw a little blood. Maybe if he failed he could help whoever investigated… No. No morbid thoughts right now. That's the first step towards giving up.

 

He wished he could see who was doing this. He had a gut feeling that they could see him at least a little, judging by the slight falter he felt when his expression turned to a pleading one. 

 

He could feel his struggling weaken and panicked. His hands flailed about, making feeble contact with whatever they could reach. After a minute his arms dropped uselessly to the ground and he felt himself slipping out of consciousness, more than likely for the last time. 

 

Maybe this nightmare had an ending after all...

Remaining Students: 13


	14. Inherited Investigation

Silver brushed a stray piece of red hair out of his face. Even if he wasn't really affected by the motive, it was still mildly disturbing. He wasn't surprised by anyone else's reactions. They were more emotional, to an extent. That, or the person involved in the motive they were actually pretty close to. Whatever. 

 

Anyway, he walked in the halls with a straight face just killing time. He had no plans to kill, and definitely no plans to be killed. He'd survive, he'll make sure of it. As for everyone else, they could do whatever. He was indifferent on the matter when it comes to most of them. 

 

It wasn't that he wanted anyone to die, no that wasn't it. He just wasn't really “attached” to anyone else enough to feel much should they go. Though he had his exceptions…

 

Nevermind. 

 

His thoughts were broken by a frightened looking Crystal running at him. Instinctively he stopped in his tracks, letting her decide whether to run past or stop. She stopped, barely out of breath. Just watching her was enough to make anyone tired. 

 

“C-come quickly! It's...It's awful!” she said, stumbling over her words a little. 

 

Silver frowned just a little. “Fine. Don't run so fast.” he commented simply. Crystal rolled her eyes and ran back the way she came, dragging him along by the wrist. “Just keep up!” she huffed. 

 

The heir sighed and ran, doing his best to keep up. When Crystal finally let him stop he looked at the door. It was just a plain looking door, what was so “awful” about it? 

 

Naturally, it had to be what was inside that was causing the problem. Freeing his wrist from Crystal’s grip he pushed the door open and stepped inside. 

 

While he was unsurprised by the sight before him, thanks to Crystal’s reaction, he was still caught a tiny bit off guard. 

 

By a stack of slightly disturbed boxes, there was a rope tied to a support on the ceiling. Silver followed it with his eyes silently. At the end was none other than the Ultimate Detective, the rope looped around his neck as he dangled lifelessly about six or seven feet above the ground. 

 

The silence was suddenly broken by dinging from the monitors as the screens flickered to life. “A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation we will begin the class trial!” the bear said way too happily. 

 

Little by little everyone arrived to see what was happening, and needless to say a few people were freaking out. Silver didn't bother to see who. It didn't matter that much. 

 

Lance came over to join him, maybe get a closer look too. “I think we should get started.” the tamer commented. 

 

“You read my mind.”

 

INVESTIGATION START


	15. Law and Order

Silver frowned, trying to determine where to start. He ended up indecisively circling the body, searching for a point to go off of. He stopped, catching sight of something a little odd. He stepped closer, noticing the heels of his shoes marked with scuff marks. A frown appeared on his face. Why would his heels be so marked up?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Scuffed Shoes

 

Moving on, he examined the surrounding area, deciding that leaving the body alone for now would be the best bet so not to disturb potential evidence. He looked at the stack of boxes. There seemed to be dents in odd spots. He touched them softly. Something banged against them, that much was for sure. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Dented Boxes

 

He continued in that area. It didn't seem like anything would be found elsewhere based on the setup of the crime scene so far. Passing by another stack, something reflecting the light caught his eye. He approached it and picked it up to see what it was. Night vision goggles? What would someone use those for? And why put them in such a strange place?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Night Vision Goggles 

 

He turned the goggles around in his hands. Something about them troubled him. The redhead couldn't put his finger on what it was just yet. He then paused, taking a slightly closer look. There was something stuck to it. Slowly he pulled it off, practically scrutinizing it. It was a long hair, too thin to tell the color. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Strand of Hair

 

After a few minutes longer he decided it was a safe time to take the body down. He called Lance over to help because of his height advantage. Aside from that he trusted him enough not to mess with anything. They laid Lack-Two on the floor carefully, trying not to disturb too much. Silver moved in to look him over, looking unfazed by such close proximity to a corpse. He frowned seeing his hand. More specifically, the traces of blood under his nails. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Bloody Nails

 

He looked over his shoulder, calling Yellow over. “You know medical things right? Think you can do an autopsy?” he questioned. He left her to it after she shakily nodded. He went over the facts he already had while waiting, trying to put together a working theory. Soon enough the small blonde looked up. “It looks like asphyxiation by hanging…” she said softly. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Autopsy Report

 

Silver let Yellow go back to do whatever it was she was doing earlier. He took a look over the body one more time in case he missed anything. Hell, he even shoved his hands in his pockets. He couldn't get in trouble for invading the privacy of the dead. Besides, for all he knew there could be something important there. He found a folded up scrap of paper in his pocket and took it out, reading it over silently. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Scrap of Paper

 

He sighed when the bear called them to the elevator. Great, just what he needed right now. This whole thing was troublesome enough as it was. He took one last scan over the scene before walking to the elevator with the others, staying silent as it went down. 

 

It was finally time to find out the truth no one wanted to hear.


	16. Pint Sized Peril

His gaze scanned over the group, looking for any behavior that suggested someone was trying to hide something. He frowned a tiny bit thoughtfully seeing nothing to build on. Not that it mattered, it was easy enough to solve without incriminating body language. 

 

He then sighed a little. “Alright, this time the victim was Lack-Two.” he said. Might as well start with the obvious. 

 

Gold frowned a tiny bit, looking up. “This might be a bit of a stretch, but isn't he also the culprit? I mean look at the scene!” 

 

Silver huffed. “Of course he's not the culprit idiot. Do you mind waiting for a little more information before spitting out nonsense?” he said bluntly. 

 

Gold frowned a little. “That was uncalled for…” Will commented. 

 

Silver rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” he huffed. “Anyway, he died because of a lack of air.” 

 

“Well how did it happen if he didn't do it?” Green questioned. Silver’s gaze flicked over to him. “Simply put, someone lured him there and did it.” he answered. 

 

“How the hell does that make sense?” Gold chimed in again. 

 

“Well, it's obvious that he didn't put the rope around his own neck.” the heir shot back. “Why do you say that?” the breeder questioned. 

 

“He had unnatural scuff marks on the heels of his shoes, matching to dents in the stack of boxes near where he was hanging.” 

 

“Meaning?”

 

“The likely conclusion is he was dragged up there.”

 

“He'd put up a fight if that were the case right? Then he has to have done it himself!”

 

“That's where you're wrong!”

 

“How am I wrong now?!”

 

“There was blood under his nails. It wouldn't have been there if he did it willingly!”

 

“Oh…”

 

Black frowned, deciding to jump in. “Uh...So how would anyone pull that off? I passed by the room where it happened and I didn't see any lights on…”

 

Silver looked up at him. “There were night vision goggles poorly hidden at the scene with a long strand of hair stuck to them.”

 

“What color was it?”

 

“It was too thin to tell.”

 

There seemed to be a collective groan at that news. Likely everyone was frustrated that there was still very little pointing towards anyone. On the bright side everyone with short hair was out at least. Now, how to proceed from there…

 

“We can rule out people with short sleeves.” Silver then decided. 

 

“Why?” White asked, finally speaking up. 

 

“Again, blood under his nails. If someone with short sleeves did it we'd have known immediately.” Finally a positive consensus was reached. A little progress too probably. Hopefully. 

 

Lance was quiet a minute before speaking up. “So...If he didn't do it himself...Wouldn't the cause of death not be hanging..?” he mused. 

 

Sapphire frowned. “That makes sense...But what would it be?”

 

Silver stiffened in realization. “Hands on strangulation...His neck had bruises on it...Now that I think about it, the pattern would fit with the kind of pattern fingertips would make…” he mused. 

 

“Wait...But that would make the autopsy wrong..?” Gold said hesitantly. Will hummed thoughtfully. “Then wouldn't the one who performed it have been lying?” he commented. 

 

All eyes turned to Yellow, who frowned. “It was an honest mistake! I'm a vet, not a medical examiner!” she said. Silver sighed. “I have no medical knowledge but even I could figure out it was strangulation and not hanging. How do you justify that?”

 

“The rope burn made it hard to see the bruises right away.” 

 

“How long is your hair?”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Just answer the question.”

 

“It doesn't matter!”

 

Silver sighed and looked to Lance for assistance. The tamer frowned and shot a rubber band, somehow knocking off Yellow’s hat. It must've been a pretty light article if it came off so easily...That was a dumb observation why did he think about that?

 

Anyway, it seemed Yellow had a pretty long ponytail. Not as long as White’s, but still long. 

 

“Now that that part’s out of the way, mind rolling your sleeves up?”

 

“Are you seriously accusing me? I couldn't drag, carry, or overpower anyone that much bigger than me!”

 

“Maybe not, but its best to make sure…”

 

“I'm innocent!”

 

“Then show us.”

 

“Your logic is completely off!”

 

“Is it?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“How?”

 

“Because it wasn't me!”

 

“Prove you're innocent then.”

 

“I don't have to prove anything to you!”

 

“You did it didn't you?”

 

“You're being absurd!”

 

“You used the night vision goggles to take advantage of being able to see what he couldn't.”

 

“Wrong!”

 

“You pulled him up the boxes and tried to stage it like a suicide.”

 

“You're crazy!”

 

“Your yelling isn't helping your argument.”

 

“If you're so sure it was me, prove it!”

 

Silver sighed. “You want proof? Fine, I'll give you proof.


	17. Hanged Man's Gambit

Silver waited for quiet before beginning. 

“The whole thing started this morning. Lack-Two received an anonymous note requesting a meeting during the afternoon. The morning progressed as usual, our collective disturbance about the motive making everyone scattered enough that it would be easy to set up a murder without looking suspicious. 

The culprit decided to use the secondary storage room, knowing that very few people go in there on a regular basis. Making the boxes into a staircase was simple enough, seeing how many boxes there were lying around. The noose was tied beforehand in case of any trouble. 

Once that was set up, they retrieved night vision goggles and dimmed the lights, lying in wait. 

Lack-Two came and closed the door, unknowingly closing off the only chance of escape he had. Using some form of trickery the culprit made him fall over, giving them enough time to shut the lights off completely and pin down the victim. 

From there it was a simple strangling, but Lack-Two managed to scratch the attacker before dying. Once it was over, the culprit truly got to work. 

They dragged his body up the previously made staircase of boxes to the ceiling, where the rope was waiting for them. They tied the rope to the ceiling and looped the other end around Lack-Two’s neck, lowering him down to make it look like he hung himself. 

The problems came in the staging. The night vision goggles had to be hidden, but turning the lights on so suddenly would arouse suspicion. The culprit took them off, blindly feeling around for a suitable location. Thinking they found one, they shoved the goggles in and left, turning the lights on as they left to make everything look normal.

When we found his body, they were one of the last to come. The nail in the coffin is lying about the cause of death, even though we figured it out after the fact. Only one person could pull something like this off. Yellow, it's over.” the heir said in an even tone. 

Yellow was struck silent for a long moment, somehow able to keep her jaw off the floor. She floundered, looking like she was trying to come up with a defense and drawing a complete blank. It was almost sad to watch. Almost. It wasn’t enough to get any sort of sympathy out of him. She killed someone in cold blood. That was enough for him to save his sympathy for someone who may end up deserving it. If that time ever comes that is. 

Instead he turned to Monokuma. “We’re done here. Let’s just get this vote over with.” he said bluntly.

The bear looked up. Apparently he hadn’t been paying much attention. “Eh? If you insist!” he said, suddenly looking quite happy. 

Thirteen votes were cast and then a heavy silence fell over the group, waiting for the bear to decide their fates. “Wow, you guys are good! You got it again!” Monokuma said, his voice revealing the grin his face didn’t show. 

“Now let’s give it everything we got! It’s punishment time!”

Then the gavel came down.

GAME OVER.

YELLOW HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	18. Night of the Hunter

Yellow slid down a chute that had something coating it, but from how dark it was it was hard to tell what exactly it was. Judging by her expression, it was probably gross or at least pretty smelly. Definitely not a pleasant way to start the end of a life. 

At the end she was practically catapulted into a forest-like setting, the area lit with pale moonlight, revealing that it was actually blood she had been sliding around in on the way there. The petite girl landed strangely, which seemed to mess up her ankle just enough to make her pace slower and mildly unsteady and she searched for a way to somewhere to hide from the inevitable. 

There were a series of eerie sounds like distant howling. Yellow seemed to be calm enough given that the source sounded far enough away to give her time to run. Or at least speedwalk. Whichever worked out better. 

The forest grew lighter and lighter as she went, as if the trees were thinning like she was near its edge. Her face lit up with a certain degree of hope at the thought, pushing herself to get there faster. Of course, it wasn’t the forest’s end she found, but a simple clearing. It seemed like a safe place, so she stopped for a minute to catch her breath.

As these executions tended to go, the safest place was really the most dangerous. The bushes rustled from all around, accompanied by low growling. Yellow paled and edged away, looking for an opening to run.

Just like that wolves materialized from the shadows, staring down the small veterinarian. She trembled a little, slowly backing away further. 

Before anyone could see it coming they sprang, for a solid minute completely concealing Yellow from view. All anyone could hear were horrid tearing sounds accompanied by the growing pool of blood. 

Time passed and the wolves disappeared back into the trees, leaving behind what was left of Yellow. It was a disgusting sight. Hell, unless you knew who it was it would be hard to even tell it was her. Then the screen flicked off.

Silver stood there in silence, taking in everyone’s reactions. White was actually throwing up, while Black was trying to help but looked like he was barely holding the contents of his stomach in himself. Everyone looked a few shades paler than usual. He could only assume how Red was faring, his cap pulled so low the heir couldn’t even see his face. Green didn’t seem like he was taking it all that well, but he appeared to be trying really hard to hide that fact. 

He was the first to leave. The atmosphere in the trial room was too dark to be bothered with. There were other matters to tend to anyway.

Remaining Students: 12


	19. Eye of The Storm

The next day people still looked pretty shaken. Why? It was over. Aside from that, it wasn't even the first case. You’d think the others would've prepared themselves for this stuff, considering they were constantly at risk of being next. 

 

Whatever floats their boats. Silver just sat in the library, reading anything and everything to ignore everyone else's misery. It was troublesome, boring even. It wasn't his job to cheer people up. Someone else could do that. 

 

Lance was in the seat across from him, not doing much of anything. He wasn't moping like a dope at least, so he didn't care so much. 

 

A bored sigh escaped. The day after a trial was always so dull. When will they learn how to move on with their lives? There was only so long people could get away with brooding. 

 

Every so often someone would pass through. Silver made no attempt to communicate. There wasn't a point, they'd be too depressed to make worthwhile conversation. Of course, that was assuming he wanted to talk to them to begin with. 

 

The next few days passed like that. On the bright side there was a gradual improvement in mood. The depression was getting old fast. 

 

Monokuma had been pretty quiet during this time. He only appeared a few times to bother people but that was really it. It was kind of peaceful. 

 

As usual that peace had to be broken by dinging from the monitors. “Everyone please report to the gym right away!”

 

Great. What was that stupid bear up to now?


	20. Distrust

Silver made his way to the gym, walking in close to last. There was no rush. The bear could wait a little longer to deliver whatever announcement he was planning. 

 

His eyes scanned over the group as everyone eventually settled in. Maybe they didn't “settle” persay, but they found a spot and stayed there. It was close enough to settling right?

 

Whatever. 

 

Everyone stared at Monokuma when he appeared. Silver could read the tension in their muscles like a book. It was obvious they were anxious about what might happen. On the other hand he wasn't too worried. The bear couldn't touch them, so what could he really do besides scare them?

 

It took a few seconds, but the two toned devil bear finally started talking. “Thank you all for coming! I have an announcement to make!” he started. 

 

No one seemed into it. Green sighed. “Just get on with it already.” he snapped. Silver rolled his eyes. Someone was definitely in a bad mood. 

 

“Alright, alright geez…” Monokuma sighed. “I'm only trying to help you guys out a little…”

 

Gold frowned. “Help? What do you mean help?” he questioned. Admittedly Silver was a little confused, but at least someone else was there to voice it for him. 

 

The bear brightened up instantly. “Well, I just thought you'd like to know there's a traitor in your midst!”

 

Everyone looked a little nervous at that. “What are you talking about?” Crystal asked. “Simple! Someone among you isn't really on your side of the despair coin!” Monokuma answered. 

 

White looked angry at that. “Are you kidding me?” she snapped. 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“Are you seriously expecting us to believe that after all this time, someone is suddenly working against us?!”

 

“What makes you think it was sudden~?”

 

“So let me get this straight. You're saying this whole time someone was working against us, and you're just now ratting them out?”

 

“Yeah, that just about sums it up!”

 

“That's absolutely ridiculous! I refuse to believe any of this!”

 

“That's your decision. As for the rest of you, happy hunting~!”

 

With that the bear was gone. Glancing around, he could see subtle traces of suspicion in everyone’s body language, save for a couple people. Were they really believing this nonsense?

 

There's no way someone like that is hanging around here. It wasn't remotely probable.


	21. Traitorous Thoughts

When the bear left, no one moved for a few moments. No one seemed to know what to do. It was logical. There was the big question of whether or not there really was a traitor to keep everyone occupied. 

 

Silver didn't think it was true. No, he highly doubted it. There was no one whose reaction to the announcement told him that they were against them. Nothing told him that someone was secretly cheering for the ideals of the demonic bear that decided it was a good idea to rip their lives apart at the seams. 

 

Could it be called an announcement? Or would it be appropriate to call it a motive? He wasn't even sure. There was a problem with calling it either. If there wasn't really a traitor, it couldn't be a true announcement. If it didn't make anyone kill, it couldn't be called a motive. In any case, what was it?

 

It took a while, but people eventually shuffled out of the gym. He went off on his own to walk. That's it. Just walk. He needed time to clear his head. It would be impossible to verify or refute Monokuma’s outrageous claim while his mind was cluttered with endless thoughts and wild assumptions. 

 

There was a point that he decided not to mull it over any further. Doubting everyone wouldn't get him anywhere. He could only hope at least a few of the others shared the same opinion and followed suit. Their depression was a pain to watch, he could only imagine the annoyance he'd get out of their distrust. 

 

Glancing at the time, he realized that most of the day went by without any sort of productivity. A frustrated sigh broke the hall’s silence. Without any other sound he went to his room. He sat silently on the bed for a little while in thought. 

 

There's no traitor. 

 

He could say that much. 

 

But...is it the truth?


	22. Do Your Research

The next day he missed the morning announcement. He didn't find out until he registered the banging on his door. He slowly got up and opened the door. He looked up seeing Lance there. “Hm?” Silver mumbled. 

 

Lance seems relieved. “You didn't come to breakfast...I just came to see what's up…” he said, looking like he was trying to pretend not to care. It was kind of amusing. 

 

Silver shrugged. “Overslept. Anyway, what's going on?” he questioned. “Nothing especially interesting...As usual…” the tamer sighed. 

 

The heir huffed and stepped out into the hall without a word. He decided to go see where people were. Maybe someone found something worthwhile to do. 

 

He passed the warehouse and spotted someone going in then quickly rushing out. Well that was weird. 

 

He looked at Lance for his input, but just got a frown and a shrug in response. Silver softly sighed and approached the door. 

 

There was a moment of hesitation when he touched the door. Why? Why was he hesitating? What was he afraid of? He shook his head. He wasn't scared of anything. 

 

With that thought in mind he pushed the door open and walked inside. 

 

In hindsight, maybe he should have been afraid, or at least nervous. 

 

In between two shelving units, Platinum was lying on the floor. There was a clear wound on her head, blood splattered all over the place. Off to the side was a sledgehammer that looked like it was placed there haphazardly. 

 

“A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation we will begin the class trial!”

 

The announcement prompted the others to make their way to the warehouse to join them. There were murmurs of fear and questions of if the traitor made their move. 

 

What nonsense. 

 

Investigation start!

 

Remaining Students: 11


	23. Hammer Time

Silver went to the scene carefully. His eyes scanned over every detail for something to start with. He looked at the sledgehammer in comparison to the head wound. It looked like it matched. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Bloody Sledgehammer 

 

He looked up. There was a clear dent in one of the shelves. That also looked about the same size as the hammer. How strange…

 

Truth Bullet Added: Dented Shelf

 

Curiosity got the better of him and he looked at the shelves to see what was on them. He could see camera equipment of all kinds, most of which he couldn't identify by name. What was she doing here?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Camera Equipment 

 

His gaze went up again, past the dent, something catching his eye. It appeared to be a fallen toolbox of sorts. How did it fall over?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Toppled Toolbox

 

After a moment of thought, Silver went around to the other side of the unit to see what it looked like on that side. He saw the blood from under the shelves and used that to tell him where to go. His eyes scanned the shelves. It was more mundane, miscellaneous items on them. There were some objects on the floor and overall the section looked a little jostled. Why?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Jostled Shelves

 

He sighed a little. The bear called them to the elevator. He was in the middle of the “pack” as they went. Frowning slightly he looked at the doors as the elevator descended. 

 

So troublesome...


	24. Petty Arguments

He looked at everyone when he got to his spot, thinking hard. He didn't find anything that would identify anyone in particular. That could make things complicated…

 

The most he could do was discount Diamond. For some reason or another he looked quite distressed by recent events. He was sure someone so alarmed by this wouldn't have done it. 

 

Anyway, down to business. “Platinum died due to a wound to the head.” he said to start off. “And the weapon was the sledgehammer found at the scene.”

 

Black frowned a little. “How'd it get there?” he questioned. 

 

“It fell off the shelf.” the heir answered. 

 

“Impossible.” Green said simply. “Something that heavy doesn't just fall off a shelf.”

 

“Yet it did.”

 

“Someone had to have swung it. It's the only way.”

 

“There was a dent on a higher shelf that matches the size and shape of the hammer.”

 

“So? They could have missed the first time.”

 

“There was also a tipped over toolbox on a shelf higher than the dent.”

 

“Alright...So it fell. How?”

 

Silver sighed. “That's what we need to figure out next.” he responded. 

 

“This might not be of much importance, but what was she doing there?” Will chimed in. 

 

“The shelves closest to her were loaded with camera equipment. I think she may have been looking for a way to determine whether or not there's a traitor.” Silver answered. 

 

“Then...Did she disturb the shelves too much?” White asked.

 

“No, the disturbance must have come from the other side.” Green said. 

 

“What? No way!” White protested. 

 

“No, he's right.” Silver commented. “The shelves on the other side were jostled too.”

 

“So...Someone bumped into the shelves and sent the hammer flying into her head?” Gold asked. 

 

“Basically.”

 

He then caught some subtle shifting out of the corner of his eye. He frowned. 

 

“What's wrong Red? You look a little nervous…”

 

Never has he seen such a vivid “deer in the headlights” look in his life.


	25. Red Like Roses, Green Like Leaves

Red was just staring at him from under his hat, looking like he had no idea how to react. Silver looked at him steadily. “Well? What's wrong?” he questioned. 

 

‘Nothing!’ Red signed quickly. 

 

Silver sighed. “What do you know about this incident that you're not telling us?”

 

‘I don't know anything! Am I not allowed to be upset?’

 

“The more details we're bringing up, the more you're shifting around. If you really know nothing, you wouldn't look so nervous.”

 

‘Says who?’

 

“Says anyone who uses logic.”

 

Red’s hands went still as if he were trying to choose his next words carefully. ‘I didn't do anything wrong…’

 

Silver sighed. “We already know this happened by accident… We can't be upset at you if there was no malicious intent…”

 

Red bit his lip gently. He seemed hesitant to do anything. Silver wasn't surprised even a little. Even if it was an accident, he'd still be executed. It was cruel, but that's how this situation worked. Monokuma wouldn't let him go even if it wasn't on purpose. No way in hell. 

 

Red finally moved again. ‘I didn't know what happened. I tripped and there was a crash… I ran away. I was scared… I'm sorry…’

 

That's it then? Silver couldn't help but be a little surprised by the quick confession. Was he just giving up this easily?

 

Green seemed to be having none of it. 

 

“Idiot what are you doing? It wasn't you and you know it!”

 

Red turned to him, looking absolutely shocked. ‘You know what happened just as much as I do. Why are you doing this now?’

 

“I'm doing it because I know what happened and you're being ridiculous!”

 

‘I'm not being ridiculous. I'm just telling the truth!’ 

 

“No you're not! Stop trying to be the damn hero!”

 

‘I'm not trying to be anything… I just want everyone to live…’

 

Silver frowned. “Green. You know what happened? Tell us.” he said bluntly. 

 

Green looked up and silently winced. “I...We were just messing around...My elbow hit the shelves…That's it.”

 

The redhead looked between Red and Green. They had conflicting stories, that much was obvious. Green’s put them there together, but Red’s put him there alone. Whose does he believe?

 

He was quiet to think. How should he go about deciding who to take seriously? He frowned. This kept getting more complicated…

 

Then something hit him. “Show us your elbows. Both of them.”

 

Green frowned. “What? Why does that matter?” he said sharply. 

 

“Just do it.”

 

The trainer looked nervous about something, but eventually rolled his sleeves up. Silver frowned. “Not even a scratch. Your story was the false one wasn't it?” he questioned sternly. 

 

“So what if there's no mark? It doesn't mean I'm lying!” 

 

Red frowned and touched Green’s shoulder as if to tell him to stop. He then lifted his shirt some. On his side was a small bruise, longer than it was wide. It would match perfectly with the shelf’s shape. 

 

Silver sighed. “That's about it then…” he muttered. 

 

Slowly people cast their votes, looking up to Monokuma for verification. 

 

“You guys are right again! But what's this? It wasn't unanimous? Green, voting for yourself? What a strange thing to do!” the bear said, seeming a tiny bit confused for a second. 

 

Green growled. “I'm not going to condemn my friend!”

 

No one could come up with something to say to that that wouldn't seem heartless, so it was silent for a minute. 

 

Monokuma collected himself pretty fast. “All that aside, you know what time it is~?”

 

The trainer paled a shade. “H-hang on, wait a minute!”

 

“Upupupu~ It's punishment time~!”

 

“Dammit I said wait!”

 

The gavel came down with a certain malicious intent that was difficult to put into words. 

 

GAME OVER.

 

RED HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

 

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	26. Snow on Mt. Silver

Red was scaling a snow covered mountain. The wind whipped around, snowflakes flying this way and that. The only security he had was a single red cord which he only held when the wind got too strong. He looked mildly at ease despite the circumstances. Whether that calm was forced or not no one will ever know. 

The silent climber passed ledges and other crevices, his focus on making it to the top. What was at the top exactly? It seemed to just be more snow. Maybe it was just the thrill of reaching the highest peaks safe and sound. It was like he really did forget this was an execution. At the same time, how did a mountain fit in the school to begin with?

Time passed and it seemed like nothing would happen. Nothing. No bizarre occurrences to bring about a cruel and unusual demise. No explosions, no wild animals, no sudden impaling, nothing. It was a little too peaceful.

As expected, the peace was false like the mountain probably was. It didn’t start out as much more than a soft, distant rumbling. Then it came closer. It got louder. It became more threatening with every second. 

Avalanche. A rush of snow and ice barreled down the mountainside, for a few agonizingly long seconds hiding Red from view completely. When it all passed, the mountain climber was stuck on a ledge, a little tangled up in his own safety cord. 

He gripped a sharp piece of ice left behind, sawing through whatever he couldn’t untangle as the rumbling started up again, more aggressive than the last time. Finally he looked panicked, trying to untangle everything as fast as he could. It wasn’t clear whether or not he finished when he vanished from view a second time. 

What was obvious was the fact that the ledge he was on moments before broke and plummeted down into the abyss. Still there was no sign of Red, not even a small spot of color against the whiteness of the snow. 

Then once again the wave passed. There he was. He hung from the cord where it was wrapped around his neck, but he looked like he was okay of the kicking was anything to go by. The cord looked like it was about to snap, so he reached up to find a secure spot to hold on to. Before he could find a spot, it broke. It was hard to say exactly how many times he hit the rocks before joining the ledge in the abyss, but it was definitely a lot. 

Just like that it was over.

Remaining Students: 10


	27. Despairingly Emotional

Silver decided to see how everyone reacted rather than leave immediately as was his usual move. For some reason he couldn't put his finger on, he was curious. Lance looked as if he was trying not to seem disturbed. Emphasis on “trying”. Black looked plain old sad, a classic. White on the other hand looked frightened like she did for every other execution. Diamond seemed not to have even watched, his face just about buried in his hat. Sapphire was nothing but angry, and Crystal looked sad to an extent. For some reason Gold and Will were hugging. Perhaps it was just for comfort. They looked close enough for that. 

 

Then there was Green. For how hard he appeared to take Yellow’s execution, this was worse. The trainer looked like he was just about paralyzed with horror and perhaps sadness. Understandable. He appeared to be close with Red for all the expression he didn't show. It was strange to see someone like him look so...crushed. Yeah, crushed was a good word for his attitude. 

 

Maybe he'd be a little better in the morning. Silver didn't think he would be able to handle yet another sad sack roaming around. It felt like he was the only one able to keep a level head. 

 

The display was depressing and honestly a pain to watch, so he left first. What else is new? He wasn't going to leave last, that's for sure. Someone else could do that. 

 

He went to the library before going anywhere else. The heir needed some way to pass the time, and here was as good a place as any to go. Less chance of running into the resident killjoys, that much is just about guaranteed. 

 

Slightly under an hour passed before he returned to his room. Nighttime was rapidly approaching, and he had nothing else to do with his time. Might as well try to get some proper sleep tonight. How he would pull that off was anyone's guess. 

 

He fell asleep to the sound of the nighttime announcement. 

 

Maybe tomorrow would be a better day...


	28. Despairingly Repetitive

He woke up as the morning announcement went off. It was starting to get annoying. Monokuma could at least put some effort into mixing it up a little. Try to make life here not so unbearably boring. Would it kill him to do that?

 

Actually who cares? This was a killing game. Boredom was the least of everyone's worries. No, maybe everyone hoped for boredom. Better than dealing with the death of another classmate.

 

Speaking of death, Silver walked out of his room to see what everyone else was doing. Naturally he went to the cafeteria. By now it was an unspoken rule that they were to go to the cafeteria in the morning. 

 

If nothing else it was a good way to keep track of everyone. It was easier to see if someone was dead if they always met in one spot at one time. 

 

He sat somewhat isolated as usual, watching, waiting. He could smell Diamond working away in the kitchen, and almost everyone was sitting there. Almost. 

 

Green came much later, looking almost like he was moving without seeing what he was doing. Damn, the last case really hit him hard, didn't it? Monokuma was probably having the time of his little bear life seeing his sadness. What a sick little thing. 

 

Once again people explored with no real purpose. It seemed like no one knew what to do with themselves. To be quite honest, he wasn't sure what to do either. It seemed like every song has been sung, every game has been played, everything was already done. What could anyone do without facing unbearable repetition?

 

As expected, the days kept passing just like this. No one had the motivation to do anything special, or even useful. 

 

Three days passed before the monotony was broken.


	29. Despairingly Destructive

It started as a normal, quiet morning. In every sense of the word it was extraordinarily average. Everyone was there, everyone ate breakfast, everyone left. Nothing special. 

 

Lance decided to walk with him today. It looked like the tamer was back to his usual self. That's pleasant at least. Neither of them spoke much, but that was fine. 

 

It started to go downhill when Gold approached, looking somewhat concerned about something. “Hey...Have you guys seen Crys anywhere..?” he asked a bit on the slow side. 

 

Lance frowned. “No, sorry.” he answered. Silver sighed. “I can't say I have…” he said. “Do you need help looking?”

 

Gold looked relieved at that. “Please.” he responded simply. The trio came together, looking for the pitcher. Silver was convinced Gold just kept missing her by a few seconds. She was fast enough for that to happen. On another note, where was Will? Was he somewhere else looking?

 

Whatever. 

 

They went from classroom, to kitchen, to her dorm, there likely wasn't anywhere they didn't go. It was what they had to do. Well, at least what they had to do to get Gold to stop whining. 

 

When they got to the library they found her. She was admittedly very hard to miss. 

 

Not in a good way. 

 

She was “sitting” against a bookshelf in a puddle of blood, a wide streak of more blood coming down from a couple feet above. Her clothes were covered in blood from the top going down. How much there was was difficult to determine. 

 

Gross. 

 

Gross? Was that really his first thought? All this nonsense was getting to him if his first thought about a crime scene was how “gross” it was. 

 

He shook his head. No time to think about that dammit! 

 

“A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation we will begin the class trial!”

 

That announcement again. It was a strange sense of familiarity that came with it, however twisted that sounds. It was like a...confirmation of reality. With every announcement he was reminded of real life. Much better than walking in a dream. No, walking in a nightmare. 

 

Yet...weren't they walking in a nightmare anyway?

 

That's the only way to describe this world they lived in. 

 

Investigation start!

 

Remaining Students: 9


	30. Dim Future

It was difficult to get close to the body without stepping in blood. Silver stepped carefully, trying not to make accidental footprints. 

 

The first thing to look for was the actual cause of death. Her torso seemed to have no sign of injury upon inspection, so he checked her head for anything. Unintentionally he pushed her head back, and he found it. There was a deep, almost wild slash across her neck. 

 

Moving on. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Neck Wound

 

There didn't seem to be a weapon nearby. It wasn't too surprising, but it was beyond annoying. Would a killer leave the weapon behind if they didn't have to? Maybe, but for the sake of not getting caught getting rid of it was a pretty smart move. 

 

For the sake of being thorough he checked the surrounding area for it. At one point he even resorted to checking under the shelves wherever there was enough space for anything bigger than a dust bunny to fit. 

 

At some point he managed to pull a knife out from under one shelf. Weird, it looked clean…

 

Truth Bullet Added: Knife

 

He continued to look for anything else suspicious. There had to be some other clues around here, he just knew it. 

 

It took a couple minutes, but another sharp item caught his attention. It was a rapier with some blood on the tip. It wasn't surprising to find; he'd seen it one of the other times he came around here. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Bloody Rapier

 

That's when he noticed Gold was taking a long time to come back with Will. For such a hyper guy it was weird. He got up and walked out to figure out where he went. 

 

He passed through room after room. Dammit was it really this hard to find someone so noisy? After a few minutes he saw him standing in the doorway of the game room. He looked almost traumatized. If that wasn't a bad sign, he didn't know what was. 

 

He stepped closer and moved to enter, which of course involved lightly pushing Gold out of the way with his shoulder upon discovering he wouldn’t move on his own. 

 

The redhead was mildly alarmed at the sight before him, but at the same time wasn’t too shocked given the current circumstances. 

 

Curled up on the floor was what looked like a lump of black and fuschia, from a distance barely recognizable as a person. Not far away was a cue ball stained with blood, corresponding with a head wound of a similar size and shape. 

 

Silver frowned slightly in thought. How was he going to make a connection between this scene and the other one?

 

What else was going to go wrong?


	31. Seeing Clearly

He approached carefully, deciding to investigate this while he was here. First thing’s first, that cue ball…

Truth Bullet Added: Bloody Cue Ball

Then the head wound. Yes, it definitely was made by the ball. The dimensions said it all. 

Truth Bullet Added: Head Wound

A moment passed before he backed away to look at the surrounding area. Something unusual caught his eye and he moved to see what it was. He frowned picking up a scrap of blue fabric. 

Truth Bullet Added: Blue Fabric

Silver softly sighed and turned back towards the door hearing movement. It seemed Lance followed him here. The help was welcome in this complicated case. 

Wait. 

There were three people here. There should've been another body announcement. Unless…

Maybe this wasn't actually a double murder case?

He kind of doubted it, but he felt the need to be sure. Slowly he crouched down and reached out, taking one glove off and placing a couple fingers on Will’s neck. It took a minute to get the position right, but he eventually felt a little pulse. A soft sigh of relief escaped as he sat back on his feet. 

The heir put his glove back on and found a towel-like rag nearby, deciding to use it as a makeshift bandage. He carefully tied it around the wound, making sure it was secure. Letting him die of blood loss would suck. Mostly for Gold, and obviously Will himself. 

After a few minutes the psychic seemed to be coming to with a soft groan. Carefully he helped him sit up, staying quiet. When it seemed like Will had his head together Silver finally spoke up. “What happened?” he questioned. 

Will frowned, concentrating deeply. “I...I don't remember…” he muttered in apparent confusion. Silver sighed quietly. “Alright...If you remember anything, feel free to speak up any time…”

With that he stood and left Gold to scold Will mercilessly for scaring him so bad. He almost felt sorry for him, but then decided against it. There was too much else to take care of. Maybe it was a little cold, but these days that’s the way he had to think to survive. When they got out he could use as few or as many emotions he wanted. 

Which probably wouldn’t be many, but that didn’t matter either.

Then again, it seemed like Monokuma had other plans, as usual. At the summon to the elevator, the nine students gathered inside the all too familiar compartment. 

No one spoke as it descended.


	32. Blood Diamond

Silver looked around the circle of stands when everyone got to their places. He lightly frowned. Their numbers were really dipping low weren't they? He shook his head. It was time to get down to business. There was a trial to get through. There would be plenty of time to think about the population later. 

“Crystal was killed in the library. The cause of death was a slashed throat. Both a knife and a rapier were found near the scene.” he said simply. Might as well get that out of the way. He scanned the others’ expressions for a reaction. 

Everyone seemed unsurprised by the cause of death, but the mention of two possible weapons spurred some people to look concerned. It made sense. Two weapons made things a bit messy. Then again there was a chance one was just a decoy. Smart move killer, smart move…

Gold asked first, as would be expected. “So, which one’s the real weapon?” he questioned. Murmurs ran through the group, the room abuzz with speculations and theories. Oh no, this would get out of hand if this continued. 

“Logically the weapon was the rapier. It was bloody, while the knife was clean.” Silver jumped in. It finally started to quiet down. Thank god. Mayhem isn't what they need right now. 

“Where'd the rapier come from?” White asked. 

“It was already in the library. I saw it when I was in there the other day.”

“Isn't that a little suspicious? I mean you already knew it was there, and it happened to be the weapon…”

Silver frowned a little. “Knowing where the weapon happened to be and actually using it are two different things.”

White didn't look convinced. How annoying. “Besides the point, we found a scrap of blue fabric. I don't wear blue. Are you satisfied now?” Silver sighed. 

“Fine...So the culprit’s wearing blue?” she questioned, as if trying to verify his statement. 

“Yes.” He held up the scrap as proof. 

Green frowned. “The only people wearing mostly blue are those four.” he commented, gesturing at Diamond, Lance, Sapphire, and Black, who didn't seem to like the attention. Of course, who would want the attention on them in this kind of situation? As much as he didn’t care about people paying attention to him, he didn’t find much enjoyment in being the main focus of a class trial. Being the center of attention meant being accused. Being accused, falsely or otherwise, was unbelievably uncomfortable. 

Stay focused.

He looked between the four, thinking carefully. The chance that one of them was the culprit was high compared to everyone else. He had to think of things that only the culprit would be able to answer. At the same time, there were things that needed to be asked as “formalities” of sorts.

“Where were you at the time of the incident?” he questioned, watching them carefully for nervousness or signs of hesitation.

Lance sighed. “I was with you the whole time remember?” he said with a slight frown. Silver nodded in verification. “I remember, just making sure everyone else is aware.”

Next he turned to Black, waiting for his alibi. “I was in the gym with White. She can vouch for me if you need.” he answered. 

“White?”

White quickly nodded. “It’s true, every word of it.” 

Sapphire jumped in on her own. “I wouldn’t go to the library anyway. I can’t read.” she said. Why did she look so proud of herself for that? Last Silver checked, being illiterate wasn’t exactly something to brag about.

Silver thought about that before turning to Diamond. “And where were you?”

Diamond frowned a tiny bit. “I was in my room most of the day…” he said. “Did anyone see you leave or enter?” SIlver followed up, looking to the rest of the group for their input. 

The answers came in almost unintelligible mumbles, but he was able to gather that no one could verify Diamond’s story. Everyone was frowning now, looking at the baker suspiciously.

“What were you doing in your room that whole time?”

“Nothing interesting. A few naps, a little reading, staring at the ceiling.”

Silver frowned. “Reading?”

Diamond tilted his head. “What's wrong with that?”

“The only place you can get books is the library. You had to have been there to get something to read.”

“I wasn't there at the time of death.”

“But you were there at some point. You said you didn't go anywhere but your room.”

“That doesn't mean I did it.”

“It makes you lying about being where the murder happened. That's a bit suspicious isn't it?”

“Not really…”

“I think I speak for everyone when I say it is…”

“I...I didn't…”

“Didn't what? Go to the library? Take the rapier? Cut Crystal’s neck open?”

Diamond was just about shaking at this point. “B-but I...It was self defense…” he said, his voice having the slightest trace of a whimper. 

“Self defense?”

The baker nodded. “I was just getting a book to pass the time...She just came out of nowhere with a knife...I-I grabbed the rapier to defend myself...It wasn't supposed to end up like this…”

Silver frowned a little. “And where does Will fit into this?” he questioned. 

Diamond frowned. “I went to the game room to hide for a little while...I wasn't expecting anyone to be there...I knew it'd all be over if he told...Sorry…”

The heir sighed. “I guess there's nothing left to do but vote…” he mused. 

Just like that the voting device opened up for them. 

It took a minute or two for all nine votes to come in, the group looking at Monokuma for verification. 

“You kiddos really are something! Congrats, you got it again!” the bear said, almost cheering. 

No one seemed to know how to react to the news. Be happy they got it right, or sad another classmate had to die? There was no way to choose, and no one had the ability to ask them to. 

The gavel came down decisively. 

GAME OVER.

DIAMOND HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	33. Red Velvet

The scene splashed across the scene was set up to resemble a giant kitchen of sorts. Behind the counter was a giant Monokuma wearing an apron and a little chef’s hat. A cookbook was open on a book stand, open to a recipe for “Beary Special Red Velvet Cupcakes”. 

 

There were ingredients lined up on the counter, Diamond sitting in a little glass jar among them. Almost anyone could see where this was going. That was where the true despair lied. That knowledge of how their classmate would suffer, but being unable to do anything about it. 

 

Then the giant bear started. The standard dry ingredients were mixed together in a big bowl, becoming an anonymous mess of white dust. In any other situation the sight might be considered innocent to a degree. 

 

Next there was the wet ingredients. The mixture this time was a hard to explain in terms of color. Still it didn't look like anything sinister. Was that the point?

 

The two bowls full of ingredients were mixed together. It looked like any other baking mix. At least, that's how it looked to anyone not very familiar with different kinds of mixes. Which, looking at the other students, was most of them. 

 

The Monokuma stared into the bowl, as if contemplating something important. He seemed to decide that something was missing. What was it?

 

The signature red color of course! 

 

The bear appeared to perk up realizing what he needed. He reached out and picked up the jar, shaking Diamond out into his paw. The other opened a drawer hidden from view, retrieving what looked like the contraption used to crush cloves of garlic. 

 

Wait, crush?

 

Monokuma put the baker in the chamber. Realizing what was going to happen, Diamond frantically tried to climb out, visibly trembling. 

 

Seconds later the bear pressed the handles together over the bowl.

 

Oh…

 

That…

 

That was a lot of blood…

 

Tossing the little press aside, Monokuma mixed the blood into the mix, staining it a dark red. Looking satisfied, he poured it into the cupcake tin and into the oversized oven it went. 

 

Moments later there were blood red cupcakes sitting out for all to see. 

 

Was that all that was left of Diamond? A bunch of twisted cupcakes? 

 

...Were they all this expendable..?

 

Remaining Students: 8


	34. Leftovers of Sweet Despair

The room was silent. Still, silent, staring at the screen. It was like everyone turned into statues while watching. Silver couldn't say he was surprised. No, actually he'd be surprised if they didn't react like this. Even though it was a case of self-defense, the punishment was as brutal as if Diamond had done it in cold blood. 

 

There was no sense of fairness was there?

 

Then again, Monokuma seemed to believe that all murders were equal and had to be treated as such, so there was that. 

 

Glancing over the crowd, he decided to see how everyone was faring. Lance looked strangely calm. Maybe he wasn't super effected by all this anymore. It was always possible. He wasn't very shaken by it himself either. Green stood there frowning before leaving. Hang on, wasn't it Silver’s “job” to leave first? 

 

For a minute he couldn't find White and Black. He glanced around for a clue. Soon he saw that they were just off in the corner. White looked about ready to either faint or puke. Maybe both. 

 

Anyway…

 

Silver sighed, curiosity getting the better of him. He walked out to go to the library. Why the library? He had a little question burning in his brain that going to the library could help him answer. 

 

His steps echoed in the empty halls as he went along. The echoes made him think. Half of them were dead. It felt like yesterday that they were all…

 

No. 

 

Don't think about that right now. 

 

The heir pushed open the doors to the library, greeted by the usual smell of old books and dust. He wandered for a few minutes, scanning every surface. Once again the body and all traces of the crime were gone. 

 

How did Monokuma do that? Was there more than one of him? The idea was awful. Multiple sadistic bears running around the school would make the situation even worse than it already was. And that was saying something. Why was he even thinking about this?

 

Silver stood in place, taking time to appreciate the silence. Shaking his head he turned on his heel and walked out to return to his room. 

 

He wondered how many more cases they'd have to deal with before this ordeal was over.


	35. Eastward Expansion

The days passed dully. There was no other word Silver could use other than dull. No one did anything but wander around aimlessly for a way out. He was vaguely reminded of rats in an exitless maze. Putting so much effort into looking for something that wasn't there. 

How boring. 

It was their fourth day of peace that he started to notice something was off. Not even off. It was just bizarre. 

For starters, there was Gold. He was sitting in the cafeteria crying and apologizing about something. At this point it wasn't clear what caused this, but Silver knew enough about him to know that this kind of behavior was far from normal. What was even stranger was his company. 

Will wasn't trying to calm him down for once. No, he just sat there. It was like he didn't care at all that Gold was crying presumably for a while. Actually, scratch that. It looked like the psychic didn't care about anything at all. 

A frown appeared on his face at the sight. This was way too weird. He looked around at everyone else to see if anyone else was acting strange. As far as he could tell there was no one else acting super odd. On the other hand, they all looked a little uncomfortable watching Gold and Will’s drastic change in behavior. He was pretty uncomfortable himself, he wasn't going to lie about that. It wasn't every day people just changed personalities at the drop of a hat. 

Shaking his head a little, he decided to grab a quick breakfast and leave. There was only so much exposure to this nonsense he could take. When he was done he went out into the halls. He didn't feel like going to the library again today. He had a feeling there would be more interesting things elsewhere. 

Where he went was that room with the catwalk. The door on the other side interested him. He wondered if it would be open yet. Stepping carefully, he slowly tried the doorknob. To his pleasant surprise, it opened. The redhead didn't bother to notify anyone else. Instead he just left the door open as he walked through. 

He didn't even go through five feet before Monokuma appeared in front of him. “So you found it! Welcome to the east wing!” he cheered. Silver frowned. “East wing? How much is here?” he questioned. 

“Well that's for you to find out! Explore to your little heart’s content!”

“One more thing. What's wrong with everyone?”

The bear looked confused. “That's not nice to say about your classmates…”

“You know what I'm talking about.”

“Be patient, you guys will find out soon enough!” Monokuma said somewhat sharply before vanishing again. 

Silver sighed a little. So the bear was behind whatever was going on with Gold and Will, maybe others. Something told him that they wouldn't turn out to be the only ones affected. Oh boy…

His focus turned to figuring out the layout of the “east wing” and determining how much was actually here. He simply poked his head into rooms for now. A few science labs, more empty classrooms, more weaponry, and a pool were on this floor. Cool, the brutal death of their classmates scored them a pool. What a generous creature Monokuma was. 

The floor above it didn’t have much else to offer, much to his disappointment, There were some classrooms littered about, a couple janitor closets, an indoor garden, and one more science lab. This one was much larger than the others, and no wonder. There was a massive contraption inside which upon closer inspection seemed to be some sort of air purifier. For a minute he wondered why such a thing would be necessary here, but with all the strange happenings he decided it was best not to think too much about it for now. 

Doing one last sweep of the wing, he found a couple doors that couldn’t be opened. Great. What were these rooms for, and why were they the only ones still blocked off? His gut instinct told him these would turn out to be important. Of course, that thought made him want to know what was inside even more. Just to be sure he tried those doors a couple more times to no avail. With a light sigh of defeat he made his way back to where everyone else was, which he could probably call the west wing at this point. 

He almost didn’t want to.


	36. Despair is a Disease...

Everyone was scattered around by the time Silver returned. He ran into Gold first, deciding to try something. He stopped the breeder and felt his head. A frown came to his face yet again. Weird… He was burning up. Did the personality flip and the temperature change have to do with each other? Hopefully not. That would be even more confusing than personality changing alone. 

 

There was only one way to find out. 

 

His goal of avoiding all the affected people turned into a quest to find all of them. Humorlessly he wondered how he got himself into these things. He didn't like dealing with all of these people more than half the time. Personality changes? Murder? Repetition? No thanks. He had better things to do with his time. 

 

Will he found sulking in the warehouse on his own. Silver carefully approached and without an explanation felt his head too. “Burning up too…” he muttered. The psychic looked at him, appearing unamused. “Okay?” he said flatly. The heir decided just to walk away. He didn't have the energy to deal with this much apathy. 

 

He stayed silent as he hunted down everyone else to see if anyone else was “infected”. Almost an hour passed before he decided that as far as he could tell the others were mostly fine. Maybe still affected by the confusion of whatever happened to their other classmates, but that was about it. 

 

What a relief. 

 

When it was time to meet up for lunch was when Monokuma decided to explain what was going on. The bear looked to be unaffected by the intense stares in his direction. Green sighed. “What the hell did you do?” he demanded. 

 

Monokuma seemed to be smiling. “What did I do? This is the Despair Disease!”

 

No one looked even remotely relieved knowing what it was called. “Despair Disease?” Silver questioned. 

 

“Yep! They're nasty, itty bitty little bugs that mess with your heads! Careful, I heard it's despairingly contagious~”

 

Almost unconsciously people shifted away from Gold and Will, the former bursting into tears and apologizing profusely for scaring everyone away. Silver sighed. “How long does this last?” 

 

“I don't know. Only one way to find out right?” Monokuma answered. With that he disappeared. Once again people were frustrated with the sheer lack of information they were getting out of him. There was nothing they could say that would draw more information out of that stupid bear. 

 

Green looked around. “Since this seems to be contagious, I say we separate right now before everyone goes crazy.” he said simply. Others seemed to be in agreement. Silver frowned a little. “And if it's a lie?” he mused. 

 

“Better safe than sorry. If you want to lose your marbles, be my guest.” 

 

No arguments coming to mind, the group left the cafeteria. The rest of the day everyone was as far from each other as the building’s layout would allow. Theoretically at least. He was alone the whole time, and never came across anyone else, so it was safe to assume that much. 

 

When nighttime rolled around he returned to his room, ready to sleep but not ready to deal with more of this “Despair Disease” and the paranoid madness that came with it.


	37. ...Everyone Catches It

The next morning Silver walked into the cafeteria to find it divided. On one side was the infected pair, neither of which looking content with their situation. The other side was home to everyone else, not looking to pleased themselves. There seemed to be a consensus of malcontent among them. 

 

He slowly took a seat with the uninfected, glancing around at their troubled expressions. It was like they were worried sitting on the other side of this massive room wasn't enough to avoid catching the “Despair Disease” themselves. Really? These people needed to calm down a little. Not that he would be the one doing the calming, but still. 

 

Everyone took their leave quickly. No one wanted to hang around, for their own reasons. He didn't care; he would've done the same anyway. When he finally left, he wandered off to the warehouse. Why? He was curious to see if there would be anything to help fix this mess in there. He highly doubted it, but it was worth a shot. 

 

This room was bigger than he thought it was. Last time he came here he didn't go very far, the idea of scanning everything dull and repelling. Now that he had to, it wasn't so much dull as it was daunting. Where would he even start? 

 

In the end he went from the far end of the room and made his way back towards the door. There really was everything in here. He actually found spare bottles of various medicines that the infirmary couldn't hold, with some odd poisons mixed in. There were what looked like cold packs, maybe for the fever? No, they were too cold to be safe for that. 

 

He continued to explore the room. He shifted through the shelves to see what was around. Naturally there was nothing that could help them, so he left without looking back. For now this place was useless to him. 

 

After a time, he decided to check out the east wing again. For all he knew he could have overlooked something important. Of course he doubted it, but it was worth a shot. He opened the door on the catwalk’s level and stopped seeing something unusual. It looked like the railing finally broke. The darn thing was shaky enough as it was, it was bound to happen sometime. The odd part about it was how it looked to be melted rather than just snapped off. 

 

What prompted him to see what was up was a startled cry from the lower level. A glance towards the door of origin revealed that it was Black who made the sound. He carefully approached the missing section of rail and looked over the edge with a frown. 

 

Oh my god. 

 

The breeder was lying on the floor, limbs splayed in all directions. That wasn't the bad part, not by a long shot. He was lying on a katana, the blade pushed all the way through his chest from behind. His face was frozen in an expression of terror, and it was no exaggeration to say that Silver was having a staring contest with a corpse. There was something else under him, but from the catwalk’s height and the sheer amount of blood it was hard to say exactly what it was. 

 

Black’s cry attracted the attention of others and drew them to the room. They came from all different doors. It seemed the others finally discovered the east wing at least. For a moment people couldn't decide how to react, staring silently at the scene before them.

 

“A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation we will begin the class trial!”

 

The first reaction came with that announcement. He had no idea Will was capable of making such a painful sound. 

 

Remaining Students: 7


	38. Hide and Seek

Will’s horrified screaming alerted him that whatever effect the Despair Disease had was over. Weird… So that strange situation was created for the sake of an uncomfortable motive? Perhaps it was a success, but it was still too much effort to go through all that for a murder. Out of all the motives Monokuma could've chosen, why this one?

 

Silver shook his head. There was no time to worry about stuff like that right now. There was an investigation to do. He looked at the railing for a moment. Yeah, it was definitely melted. But how did it happen?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Melted Railing

 

He didn't see anything else on the catwalk, so he made his way down to the lower level. He frowned. There really was a lot of blood… First things first, the weapon. It was beyond a doubt the katana sticking through his chest. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Katana

 

He moved closer to the body carefully, not wanting to miss anything. Slowly he crouched down to see what that object was under him. He removed one glove and lightly wiped some blood off of it, revealing bright yellow. It looked like it was a wet floor sign. How ironic. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Wet Floor Sign

 

He then checked over the body itself. He wanted to check for any other injuries aside from the obvious cause of death. He tried to avoid touching him as much as possible so not to disturb possible evidence. He noticed his sweatshirt was raised higher than would be normal of a fall, and crinkled up by the collar. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Sweatshirt

 

A little bottle caught his attention. He picked it up and looked at it. It seemed to be a very strong acid. Is that how the rail melted?

 

Truth Bullet Added: Acid

 

There was probably more to see, but it seemed like Monokuma didn't want to wait anymore. Everyone looked a little surprised at the quick call to the elevator, but at the same time, the bear was always full of surprises. Silver took one last look over the body. 

 

Something felt off…

 

He couldn't put it into words, but this case filled him with a sense of dread. 

 

He went into the elevator with the others, wondering what the result would be this time.


	39. Silver Bullet

There was a long while of silence when everyone got into their spots. Silver frowned. “Gold was found with a katana through his chest.” he said to initiate the discussion. Lance sighed. “And? How did it happen?”

 

White tilted her head. “It looked to me like he fell off the catwalk…” she chimed in. “And the railing broke, so I guess that's how it happened.”

 

Silver nodded. “True. The railing was melted, not broken. The piece that was where the hole would be wasn't around anywhere.”

 

Sapphire frowned. “So how'd it melt? It didn't smell hot anywhere.”

 

“Acid. I found a bottle of a potent acid near the scene.” Silver answered holding it up. 

 

Green decided to jump in now. “Okay, where did it come from?” he questioned. “Last I checked acid isn't just lying around for everyone to see.”

 

Black hummed. “Maybe the warehouse? There's all sorts of things in there isn't there?” he suggested. 

 

“No, that's wrong.” Silver said simply. “In the east wing there were multiple science labs. It had to come from one of those.”

 

Will sighed. “How did it happen without anyone noticing?” 

 

“We were all on our own for the most part. It wouldn't be too hard.” White commented. 

 

Sapphire looked around. “Wouldn't whoever did that burn themselves? I'd think dumping acid right out of a bottle would make a mess…” 

 

Will frowned. “I suppose our next move then is for everyone to show their hands.” he mused. For a minute murmurs of debate filled the room before everyone reached a general consensus that it was worth a shot. 

 

Everyone held their hands out in plain sight, and those who had to removed their gloves. A short look over the group showed everyone was clean. Or not. When they flipped their hands to show the backs, a reddish burn mark was found on Silver's right hand. Will frowned. "What's that from?" he questioned. 

Silver hesitated a second. "...An accident a few years ago."

 

Everyone was quiet again. They all seemed hesitant to do anything, lest it prove to be useless. It seemed like everyone was prepared to quit, but then Black got the courage to do something. 

 

“I saw this kind of near the scene, but I wasn't sure it was involved…” he said slowly, holding something up. Upon closer inspection it was revealed to be a black cloth with a red stripe. Silver looked up to find everyone looking at him with clear suspicion. He frowned. He was really in a pickle now wasn't he? All he knew was he was innocent. 

 

Now how was he going to prove it?

 

Being in the hot seat was never fun. Especially not when there was some kind of concrete evidence against you. He had to be very careful. One wrong move could be the end of him, and likely everyone else too. 

 

Of course Green just had to be the “interrogator” this time around. It was possibly a step up from the typical near-silence. “Where were you when the incident took place?” the trainer questioned. 

 

Silver sighed. “I was at the warehouse for at least half an hour. I wasn't around here until when Gold’s body was found.”

 

“Can anyone prove it?”

 

“I didn't see anyone. Everyone was all over the place last I checked.”

 

“I can verify at least two other people's alibis. And I'm fairly certain everyone else saw at least one other person during the day. If you really didn't see anyone, you have no alibi.”

 

“Just because I didn't see anyone doesn't mean I did it.”

 

“You were on the catwalk when the body was found. The warehouse is on the floor below that. Why were you up there?”

 

“I was there because that's where I ended up at the time.”

 

“You happened to be there, a piece of cloth resembling your clothes was found at the scene, and you're magically burned. A little suspicious isn't it?”

 

Silver frowned. “I guess it looks pretty bad…” he mused. 

 

Green looked at the others. “So? Are we done yet?”

 

Lance frowned. “Hang on, you're not even listening to his side…”

 

“He had plenty of opportunities to say something solid to clear his name.”

 

Silver tensed a little. This was getting bad. They were wrong! He didn't do it! At this rate they were rocketing towards disaster! What could he say that would work? No one was believing him…

 

Oh god no. People were voting. Why? This wasn't right! Everyone was going to die because of this! They didn't know what they were-

 

“You got it again guys! Good job!” Monokuma cheered. 

 

What? No way. He knew he didn't do it. Something was wrong. Someone else was behind this. The issue was finding out who and how they pulled it off. 

 

First thing's first. He had to survive punishment time. 

 

The gavel dropped. 

 

GAME OVER.

 

SILVER HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

 

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	40. Down The Rabbit Hole

Silver scanned his surroundings carefully. The room was filled with stonework of all kinds, the pattern mesmerizingly simple. Was that the point? He didn't know. What he did know was that if he was planning on survival, he had to move. 

 

Simple enough right?

 

Slowly he put one foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right. He repeated the directions in his head to keep his cool. The last thing he needed was to panic, especially not so early. 

 

Something sunk under his foot. Uh-oh. He should've expected there to be pressure plates in here. Arrows flew at him from the other wall. It was a strange little dance trying to avoid them, even still some buried themselves in his flesh. He considered himself lucky it wasn't over right then and there. When the rain of arrows stopped he took a minute to pull them out, dropping the bloody projectiles on the floor. 

 

Ignoring the feeling of blood dripping down he kept walking. He ran his hand along the wall, looking for a way out of the room. His hand sunk in and multiple other passages open. His eyes shifted between the passages, trying to decide where to go. 

 

Silver decided to go with his instincts and went down the one closest to him. The lighting in here was pretty bad. He could see enough, but it was still troublesome. 

 

Not too bad. 

 

He frowned in annoyance when he managed to set off yet another pressure plate. Wonderful. He was tense, trying to figure out what it was going to do. A “shink” sound alerted him that something was happening. Seconds of nothingness passed and he deemed it safe to move his foot. Slowly he lifted it, and then the trap went off. 

 

His foot barely left the ground when a spear dropped from the ceiling, effectively pinning it to the floor. The heir refused to show many signs of pain regardless, not interested in entertaining Monokuma with any perceived weakness. He wasn't that dumb. 

 

He grit his teeth slightly, gripping the spear with both hands. Mentally counting to three, he pulled upwards, yanking the spear out of his foot. He looked at it before tossing it aside. A soft hiss escaped when he started to move again. He limped along, focusing hard on moving forward. 

 

Every now and then another trap would go off. Silver carefully kept track of his own condition, measuring the likelihood of survival. His eyes then landed on a very interesting set of doors on the floor. Based on the smell coming from it, it seemed to lead to wherever they had been dumping their garbage. 

 

Suddenly he had an idea. 

 

He triggered one more plate, hoping it would work in his favor. Small metal balls flew at him, every moment of contact drawing blood. The heir dropped loosely to the floor and closed his eyes, playing dead. He just hoped it was convincing enough to move forward with his plan. 

 

The doors to the garbage chute opened to get rid of the leftover balls. He knew there was no compactor, and theoretically there should be a way back up. Just when it became convincing that he really was dead, he jumped up and slid through the doors, dropping into the stinky darkness. 

 

He could only imagine how angry Monokuma was. 

 

Remaining Students: 7?


	41. From Trash to Trust

It was a strange feeling being surrounded by garbage. It was like being part of the waste, but being above it at the same time. The situation was ripe for pondering many things about life. However, that wasn't what Silver was thinking about. No, his focus was more geared towards how to get out of this pile of crap and finding the mastermind behind their unfortunate situation. 

He carefully got to his feet and looked around for a plausible exit. He never knew exactly how stuff got down here or how it was eliminated later. A sound of something large falling caught his attention. While a part of him thought it was just more trash, he had to check. There was a little limp still in his walk as he approached it. 

What he wasn't expecting to find was Lance climbing out of the pile of trash. The heir stepped back to give him space to get out fully. Lance turned to him. “Hey. We're getting out of this junk heap. Let's go.” he said simply. 

Silver frowned. “Where's the exit?” he questioned. The tamer scanned the room. “This way.” he answered leading the way towards a hard to see door in the far wall. 

When they got through the door, they were faced with a tall ladder. Silver couldn't actually see the top of it. Regardless, he started to slowly climb anyway, careful of his bad foot and the various other injuries. Lance took up the spot behind which was nice in case he fell. He doubted he would, but the security was nice. 

The bright light at the top of the ladder was disorienting for a minute, but his eyes managed to adjust relatively quick. There was a silent agreement to go to the infirmary first, so they were up and walking again around the halls. 

Silver did the best he could to tend to his own injuries, but Lance had to assist every now and then. Thankfully his foot still fit in his shoe despite the bandages, so his steps weren't super awkward. He turned to the tamer. 

A sudden question came to mind. Why he didn’t wonder it sooner was a concern for another time. “Hey...How long was I down there?” 

Lance stopped to think about the answer. “I’d say about...two days.”

Silver stared at him for a solid minute. “Two days? You decided to wait that long to jump into the trash to see if I was alive? Geez…” he mumbled almost irritably. “Anyway, where is everyone?” he questioned. 

“The cafeteria. They kind of know you might be coming, so don't worry about people getting freaked out.”

“I wasn't worried.”

 

Lance lightly sighed. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be… Anyway, let’s just get there.”

Silver nodded shortly in agreement and headed towards the cafeteria. Lo and behold, the rest of the group was sitting around looking like they were expecting something. They turned to face the pair when they entered. The heir couldn’t quite tell their reactions to seeing him alive, but that was a matter for another time. 

It was actually Green that spoke up first. “Alright, now that we’re all here, it’s about time to figure out what we’re going to do from here. There’s no doubt that our mastermind is kicking things up a notch.” he said, his words cutting through the silence like a knife. 

On the bright side, the focus was finally off of Silver. The concerning part was the implications surrounding what Green was saying. If the mastermind really was trying to intensify things now, then it could only spell out trouble for them all. He frowned. “So you’re implying that the one pulling the strings behind this whole affair is trying to make things more hectic than usual? I have to question what the evidence behind that call is.” he mused.

Green huffed lightly. “Fine, I’ll spill it out plain and simple. First there was that crazy motive. Then the rush to end the investigation earlier than usual. Finally we have that phony excuse for an execution. It’s pretty clear to me that whoever’s behind this is trying to reach some kind of over-dramatic climax.” he said. At some point the trainer’s gaze wasn’t focused on him anymore, but he was instead staring deep into one of the many cameras littered around the school.

Silver couldn’t deny the possibility that some anonymous puppet master was growing bored of the “performance” and wanted to spice things up in preparation for some twisted grand finale. However plausible, the idea was sickening, and he couldn’t help but feel dirty acknowledging that the thought surfaced at all.

There seemed to be an unspoken agreement among the small group that remained. They had to put any differences they had aside to find out who was running this whole charade. They had to do it soon, before they decided to bring about some unimaginable despair to make them turn on each other once more.

But how..?


	42. Revelations

A few seconds passed without a word from anyone. A brief look at them was all Silver needed to know that they were all considering what Green said. Even he had to admit it was a tall order. Throwing themselves further into the mystery of this place to take down a psychopath that they can’t even see when the danger level was unbelievably high. 

It was incredibly daunting. On the bright side, there were seven of them, so it wasn’t like they were doing this all by themselves. The mastermind on the other hand was completely isolated. They had only themselves to rely on and nowhere to run once they were found out. However reassuring the thought was supposed to be, it didn’t help much. Why? Well, the mastermind was on their own from the start, and even with no assistance from anyone else they managed to get eight of them killed off.

If they were to take on someone that tough, they’d need to do a lot of work. Then again, what would they do anyway? What were they looking for? The idea of investigating without a question was even more troubling. 

“What exactly are we supposed to look for then?” Silver finally asked, seeing that no one else was going to. Green finally faced him again. “We’re trying to pin down someone very elusive...Someone who could plan an entire killing game and operate it right in front of us while we remain unaware of their true identity…” he said, looking as if he was thinking very hard about something important. 

Silver frowned a little. “Yes, I think we’ve already established that much. What I’m asking for is the question that needs answering. Just looking for who the mastermind is isn’t going to lead us anywhere. If there was concrete evidence of that earlier, this wouldn’t have progressed as far as it did.” he commented. 

Green sighed. “Yeah, I know that much... There is something we need to worry about besides the mastermind’s identity… Though I guess you could say the answer to both questions would be the same…” he mused before glancing at the group. “What needs to be determined besides the mastermind’s identity and motives is the identity of the person who really killed Gold and Platinum!”

Everyone looked shocked at the sudden revelation. White spoke up now with a frown. “What are you talking about? You’re saying Red and Silver were innocent all along? But we’re all still alive how does that work?” she questioned. 

Green looked at her. “The mastermind must have set up both scenes in such a way that it would be nearly impossible to tell that someone other than the intended sacrificial lamb was the culprit. What we need to do is figure out what the mastermind did, and who they really are.”

Black tilted his head. “Wait… What makes you so sure that they weren’t killed by the ones we voted for?” he asked.

To that Green held up what looked like a journal. “This was Platinum’s. I found it last night while in the library. Likely she was trying to hide it from Monokuma in plain sight. It said that she thought she was close to figuring out who was behind the killing game. The next pages were probably diving into her theory, because they were all messily torn out as if they weren’t meant to be seen.” he answered. 

Will frowned. “Okay, that would explain why the mastermind would want to kill Platinum… But why Gold too? He didn’t seem to be anywhere closer to figuring the mastermind’s identity out than the rest of us.”

“I’d have to guess that one was chosen at random. Probably the mastermind wanted Silver out of the picture because of his capacity to crack the cases only a peg under what Lack-Two did. They likely saw him as a potential threat to their plan and set up a scheme to remove him from the equation. Unfortunately for them, luck wasn’t on their side.” Green explained. Clearly that didn’t make Will feel better, but it seemed to clear up any other confusion. 

Silver nodded a little. “Alright. So we’re investigating the mysterious deaths of both Platinum and Gold, while searching for the mastermind on the side.” he said decisively. His eyes scanned over the assembled students. “If we really are dealing with a mastermind set for a dramatic finish, it would be wise to start the investigation right away.”

The group mumbled their agreement and stood up to search for the truth behind everything they’ve been through.

Ultimate investigation start!


	43. Tunnel To Infamy

Silver looked at Green one more time. “Before we go anywhere, could I possibly see the journal?” he asked. The trainer shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” he answered simply, handing it over. Silver nodded a little in thanks and thumbed through it carefully. There were some pages dedicated to figuring out everyone’s behavior. Trying to determine who was most likely to be a mastermind? Or was it to figure out who was most likely to kill? Whichever was the case, it wasn’t just a “getting to know you” section.

 

Moving on.

 

He stopped on a page that looked rather interesting. There was mention of a door in a very obscure location. In the middle of the catwalk? A frown appeared on his face. He didn’t recall seeing anything of the sort the numerous times he was up there. He kept reading for more information about this “door”. He had to hand it to Platinum. She really was the best at finding information. Too bad it led to her ultimate downfall…

 

Subconsciously he wandered towards the catwalk while reading, trying to find the door the way she did. The heir stopped in the middle, right near where the acid had been spilled during the last case. As usual all signs of anything happening disappeared. At least there wasn’t as much risk of falling off anymore. He looked at the page once more. It was hidden in the wall… With that in mind he ran his hand over the smooth grey surface, looking for signs that something was there that they couldn’t see. 

 

Something under his fingertips shifted when he put pressure on it. He frowned in concentration, looking at the spot carefully. There was something about it he didn’t like. At some point he decided that staring at the wall wouldn’t help anyone. He took a breath to steady his nerves before pushing harder. A tiny click made his ear twitch in alarm. He didn’t have any time to react before that section of wall spun around, sweeping the heir into whatever was on the other side.

 

Silver steadied himself and frowned, taking in his surroundings. There were monitors everywhere, and looking at them carefully he realized that the security cameras broadcast to here. One monitor concerned him though. When he looked at it he saw the back of his own head. Instinctively he spun around, staring into the lens of the camera he didn't notice before. With no one here watching the screens, he couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of filming them was. 

 

A door nearby caught his attention next because of the Monokuma face displayed largely over the whole thing. The heir approached and tried to open it. No matter what he tried, it wouldn't budge. He had a feeling that whatever controlled the bear was inside, maybe even who. He relented and backed off, looking for something else. There was a passage going deeper into the unknown. He got an ominous feeling, but went down it anyway. 

 

It wasn't super long, but the emptiness and dangerous feel made it seem like it stretched for miles. When he got to the end he was met with yet another blank wall. He got the distinct feeling that pushing this one would work too, so he put his hands against it and pushed, leaning almost his full weight into it. He sighed victoriously when it pushed open, right into…the warehouse? 

 

He walked away from the hidden doorway to see just what it was hidden by. What he saw made him frown. It didn't look like it was hidden by anything! It was just camouflaged in the wall seamlessly. How did the mastermind pull this off anyway? He definitely wished he could've gotten into the “Monokuma room” to investigate, but he would work with what he had. 

 

What he knew now was that the mastermind had secret access to both scenes in question. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Secret Passage

 

Truth Bullet Added: Monokuma Room

 

Now then, time to find somewhere else to get clues.


	44. Picture Perfect Memory Loss

As he made his way out of the warehouse he ran into Will. The psychic looked at him, appearing confused. “Silver? How'd you get here? I thought you went to the catwalk…” he said, barely able to disguise how unprepared he was to see another person. 

 

Silver frowned a little. “Platinum found a hidden door against the wall at the catwalk. I went through and it led me here.” he answered. Clearly his explanation wasn't very good because Will still looked incredibly confused. He sighed. “I'll explain it better later…” he decided, walking past the masked psychic into the hallway. 

 

He thought quietly before walking toward the stairs. He went up fast, thinking about what he should be looking for. There was something about the quiet that was unsettling. It seemed to emphasize the fact that there was someone watching them from the shadows, ready to kill whenever they felt like it. 

 

Finally he decided to check out the new rooms. No one mentioned them, but he noticed that they appeared on his ID when he checked the map. He went down to a new room that was marked as the principal’s office, pushing the door open to find that Green was already there. The trainer looked up. “Hey.” he greeted simply. 

 

Silver nodded in response. “Hey. What's up here?” he questioned. Green shook his head. “I found files on the computer but they're not very helpful. Something’s blocked by a password. I've tried the obvious choices, but feel free to take a crack at it.” he said gesturing to the computer with a thumb over his shoulder. 

 

He went over to the computer in question, his fingers hovering over the keyboard thoughtfully. He wasn't sure what he was going to try. It didn't seem like there was an attempt limit, so theoretically he could try to brute force his way in, but that would take too much time and effort he could be using elsewhere. Soon he decided on indecisiveness and started putting in the first things that came to mind. He tried words related to the school, animals, heck even random objects nearby. 

 

There was a point where he ran out of ideas and he frowned, trying to think of something else. A strange idea came to mind and he started trying the names of the students that were trapped here. Oh? When he tried Green’s name a new door appeared. The pair turned to face it, wearing matching expressions of surprise. 

 

Green frowned. “That's new.” he commented walking towards it. Silver followed, looking around the dimly lit room. He looked off to the side. “Huh. What's with the gift box?” he mused walking over to it. Green sighed. “I wouldn't bother with it, but go for it if you really want.” he said flatly. 

 

The comment was mildly unsettling, but he opened it anyway just to know whether or not it was worth it. He lifted the lid and hummed in concern seeing a bunch of messed up bones. Green didn't look over. “Meet Gramps… He'd get a kick out of guessing your gender…” he said from the other side of the little room. Silver frowned. “Oh...Sorry…” he mumbled, unsure what else to say. He did, however, find the principal’s ID. He decided to take it, figuring there would be something useful on it. 

 

There was something else stuck to the underside of the table, discovered when he put his hand down. When he pulled it off he was greeted by a little chip. “What's this?” he said. He and Green went back to the computer to check it out. The heir loaded it in and opened the file it held. “A video?” he mused. 

 

What he saw was shocking to say the least. He didn't remember meeting with the principal. Even more, he didn't have any memory of agreeing to stay in this place the rest of his life! It kept going, cycling from one student to the next. He was only halfway through when it suddenly cut out. The chip popped and a thin stream of smoke came from the player. 

 

“Isn't technology a pain in the ass? You never know what it's gonna go on the fritz!” Monokuma said waving a plug around, shattering the silence. Silver glared at the creature. “You did that on purpose. If we saw much more we would've had something.” he said sharply. “What're you talking about? I'd never do something like that!” the bear countered. “Anyway I only came to give some help~” he added before putting a slip of paper in front of each of them before running off. 

 

Silver picked up the one in front of him. He furrowed his brow a little. It was a picture of all of them. They were outside in the small forest near the school grounds. Weird… Also, why wasn't he in it? Even worse was he had no recollection of anything like this happening. He could only guess Green found something similar based on his expression, and the bear was probably off to give one to everyone else too. 

 

He couldn't deny that he didn't know what to make of this. These sudden revelations made no sense since he didn't remember anything he was shown. It wasn't super frightening per say, but it was definitely a cause for concern. 

 

Truth Bullet Added: Interview With The Principal

 

Truth Bullet Added: Group Photo


	45. Who Wrote This Tragedy?

He decided to leave Green alone for the time being. Where he went next was the library. What a surprise. He wanted to see if there was anything in there that he could find out about either this place or the murders in question. Any information would be useful right about now. 

 

When he went in he saw something that definitely wasn't there before. It was a small book and judging by its sudden, unexplained appearance it was probably important. He walked to it and picked it up. The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Despair Inducing Event In Human History… What was that? Why did it seem so important to their situation?

 

Either way he opened it to see what it all meant. The words spreading before him made a deep frown appear. A man made catastrophe with the force of a global natural disaster? The whole world plunged into anarchy? This couldn't possibly be for real. He checked the spine for any signs that what he was reading was a work of fiction. Then he remembered none of the books were marked like that and chided himself for such a foolish jump to action. 

 

He decided to keep this in mind for later, just in case it came up. What was troubling was how vague it was. No details about how it started, nothing about who sparked it, not even a word about if it was still happening. He moved on quickly. Being near the book was unsettling. It was almost repelling. Touching it and seeing its contents made him feel unclean somehow. 

 

What was he going to do now? He had far from a clue. In order to think he decided to sit down. What he needed to do was put what he had together. There was that passage. It clearly linked the two scenes. Plus there was the Monokuma room in there, probably where the mastermind was hiding. Then there's the issue of the “Tragedy”, those group photos, and that strange video. 

 

He frowned yet again. It seemed like he was no closer to figuring out the identity of the mastermind. Maybe he was learning a little bit about the school and maybe even the outside world, but what good would that do without a guilty party? And how were the two questions connected? Were they connected? Could they even find the mastermind? This was starting to feel like he was biting off more than he could chew. He stopped the thought before it progressed any further. If he quit now, all seven of them were in big trouble. Who knows what the mastermind could be planning next?

 

Besides, there was everyone else. There was no doubt in his mind that they were doing their best to find whatever information they could to solve this last case. With all their efforts combined, they had to be able to find something out that could help! He huffed softly. He didn’t know why he let himself get even a little discouraged. They were going to be fine, and that was that. That’s how it would work, or he’d die trying to get it that way. Actually, thinking about it now, that was exactly their situation. 

 

No matter. He was pretty sure someone would freak out a little once they realized the gravity of the situation, but it was no big deal push come to shove. There were enough others that could handle it in the long run. As long as fear didn’t completely ruin what they were trying to do, it wasn’t a cause for concern. What’s more is there would be someone who’d at least try to reign things in. If not him. Someone else could fill in the role. He shook his head. Enough monologuing. There was too much else to do. 

 

He stood up and headed out of the library. He wanted to see if anyone else found something they could use for this case. Surely someone had something to share. It was just a question of what use it would have if any. The clicking of the speakers made him stop and turn to the monitor. 

 

“You guys are so boring! Enough waiting around! If you want a trial so bad, now’s your shot! Let's get this show on the road!” Monokuma called, his declaration echoing through the halls across the school. 

 

So much for regrouping to compare notes. Now they had one chance to end this once and for all. Silver walked to the elevator, a sense of purpose in every step. 

 

Time for the grand finale. The trial to end it all for better or for worse. 

 

No pressure.


	46. Beginning of the End

Everyone took their places, each student more tense and thoughtful than the last. It wasn't hard to explain why. This trial could determine whether they live or die. Okay, maybe that was most trials, but this time it was all of them or none of them. They had to win. They had to win for themselves, and for everyone who couldn't make it to this point. 

 

A stand was set up with a tall stool,Monokuma standing on it looking rather proud. He looked at the students. “Since this is the final trial, I'll be adding a new rule! If you guys figure out Platinum and Gold’s killer, and the mystery of the school, you guys win! If you don't, I win!” he said with a grin in his voice. 

 

“So you're saying if you lose, you'll execute yourself? No gimmicks? No squirming out of it?” White questioned. 

 

“A bear is good to his word!” Monokuma said standing tall as if trying to look like an honorable member of “society”.

 

Showtime. 

 

Silver nodded. “Right. Let's put this out there right now. None of us are the killer.”

 

Monokuma looked confused. “Oh? Then who else could it have been? You guys are the only ones here!”

 

Green scoffed slightly. “Of course you'd say that. Considering you did it whoever you are.” he said sharply. 

 

To that the bear looked almost offended. “I can't touch you people! You know this!” 

 

“Your puppet master can and did. Then they framed other people for the crime.”

 

“What makes you so sure?”

 

Silver decided to jump back in. “There's a hidden passage connecting the catwalk and the warehouse. In that passage is the security feed and a door resembling Monokuma, undoubtedly where our mastermind is hiding.”

 

Will nodded in newfound understanding. “So that was how you ended up there, just as you said…” he mused. 

 

White looked up. “So if there was a door that might be hiding the mastermind, why didn't you open it?” she questioned. 

 

Silver sighed. “I tried everything I knew of. It wouldn't budge. Sorry to disappoint.” he answered. White hummed slightly, seeming to decide against commenting further. For the sake of the group’s chemistry, that was probably a smart move. 

 

Black hummed. “Okay, so you found the passage, but what does that mean for the case?” 

 

“It makes the mastermind able to get to both scenes without being seen. It’s the perfect way for them to commit both crimes without anyone that could claim to have seen them.” Silver explained calmly. 

 

“Got it… But what about these funky photos? I’m not in the one I got…” 

 

The heir frowned. “You weren’t in yours? That’s weird, since I wasn’t in mine.”

 

He looked around to the others. “Everyone show me your pictures.” he said. They complied without much hesitation, revealing that the recipients were all absent from the picture they received. He furrowed his brow a little to focus. “Does anyone remember the event in the picture?” he then questioned. The negative responses he received were unsurprising yet kind of harsh. 

 

Green glared at Monokuma. “Is this some kind of trick to throw us off?” he demanded.

 

The bear looked upset that he would even suggest that. “Of course not! Those pictures are one hundred percent legitimate!” he protested. 

 

Sapphire huffed. “Then why don't any of us remember what's in them, huh?!” she snapped. “There's no way there're pictures of things we didn't do!” 

 

Monokuma laughed softly. “Are you sure you didn't do them?” he said with a humor that could only be described as ominous. 

 

White jumped in on that one. “It's simple. There's no way we could've forgotten something like this. I think we'd know if we were together before coming here.” she said. 

 

“You sure~?” Monokuma said again. 

 

Lance frowned. “What are you implying?”

 

“Take a guess, anything goes!” the bear laughed. 

 

Silver thought for almost a full minute before looking around with a frown. “This is going to sound absolutely crazy…” he mused. 

 

Will shrugged. “We've seen enough crazy. Shoot.”

 

“I think we all have amnesia.”


	47. Hello Darkness My Greatest Foe

The silence was oppressive for much longer than it should've been. After a couple minutes the silence was finally broken. “Amnesia?! Are you really expecting us to believe that?!” Sapphire said. Everyone else seemed doubtful also, but didn't voice it. 

 

Silver sighed a little. “I know it sounds absurd, but I have further proof. I found this video of us meeting with the principal.”

 

Will frowned. “Meeting with the principal? I think we'd remember something that important… Right?” 

 

“What did we do in these meetings?” Lance then questioned. 

 

Silver hesitated a second. “They were one on one… He asked us if we'd be okay with staying here the rest of our lives…” 

 

“Well what did we say?”

 

“We said we would.”

 

Sapphire just about lost it again. “What?! Why would we agree to something like that?! We've been trying to get out this whole time!”

 

Silver huffed. “Which takes us back to the amnesia theory.”

 

Green frowned. “So, let's say we hypothetically lost our memories. What exactly did we forget?”

 

“That's the big question. I think first we should try to figure out who killed Platinum and Gold and then use that as a jumping off point.”

 

White nodded. “So there's that passage you said connected the scenes. What else to we have?”

 

“The causes of death are still the same right?” Black asked. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the way they died hadn't changed since the second investigation started. The only difference seemed to be how they got to that point. 

 

“When I left the passage I saw that near it were bottles of potent acid, likely the same kind used to melt the catwalk railing.” Silver said suddenly. “Our mastermind likely went through there and took one, bringing it back to the catwalk and dumping it on the railing before throwing the bottle over the edge.”

 

Black looked confused again. “Wouldn't it have broken?”

 

“If its contents couldn't break it, a fall wouldn't either.”

 

“Good point.”

 

Will frowned. “Platinum’s death is more confusing. If Red was innocent, how did it happen?”

 

Green shrugged. “Maybe the hammer fell but missed her.”

 

“Then how did she end up dying?”

 

“The passage. I think the mastermind went through the passage and when the hammer fell they picked it up and hit her with it themself.”

 

“What? That sounds a little far fetched…”

 

Silver frowned. “No, I think Green’s onto something. The mastermind knew that she was close to figuring out who they were. Wouldn't it be pretty easy for them to set up the warehouse to make an incident happen as a cover for killing her themself?”

 

Will stopped to think about it. “When you put it that way… It sounds more plausible…” he mused. “Okay, I relent. Let's say that's how it happened unless something changes!”

 

White hummed thoughtfully. “So we have once incident solved. What about the other? How did the mastermind manipulate Gold’s death to make it look like Silver did it?”

 

Silver frowned. “Besides the location of the acid in the warehouse and the passage… It's hard to say…” he admitted. 

 

Lance furrowed his brow slightly. “This is going to sound crazier than the amnesia thing… I found a profile on this kid in the middle school program, I think his name was Joey… What if he's our mastermind..?”

 

Black frowned. “A middle school kid the mastermind? No offense, but I doubt a kid that young is clever enough to come up with something this complicated. Heck, I wouldn’t be able to pull this kind of thing off.”

 

Lance frowned. “It was just an idea…” he said in his own defense. 

 

Silver sighed again. It wasn’t a bad idea, it just seemed a little far off. Then again, what would a middle school profile be doing in a high school? He could tell enough about the school to say with certainty that this place wasn’t a connected middle and high school. However big it was, it wasn’t big enough for that. He then got an idea. “What did the profile say?” 

 

“Hm? Oh, it looked like he was being scouted as the ultimate assistant or something like that…”

 

“What else?”

 

Lance thought for a second. “I can describe his appearance some… He had dark hair and brown eyes bordering on honey color… And he was about 5 foot 2.” he added. 

 

Silver frowned. “Did you say honey?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“During the investigation of Gold’s death, there was something wrong with his eyes. I thought they just dulled because he died, but now that I think about it, they looked like they were about honey color.” the heir said, gripping the podium tightly.

 

Everyone looked surprised. “What does this mean..?” White asked.

 

Green frowned. “What it means is that something wasn’t the way we thought it was.” he said. “Someone’s been pulling the wool over our eyes from the beginning.”

 

Silver shook his head. “No, not the beginning. I think it’s more like things changed in the middle. Perhaps right before a certain incident…” he countered.

 

Green turned to him. “A certain incident? What are you referring to?”

 

Will perked up. “Do you mean that despair disease thing?”

 

Silver nodded. “Exactly. I'm starting to think that this Joey and Gold swapped places just before that motive. Hard to pick up on behavior changes when the motive IS behavior changes.”

 

Monokuma seemed to frown. “Oh? What makes you so sure?”

 

“Alright I'll spell it out for you. First case. The mastermind found Platinum’s journal and discovered that she was close to uncovering their identity. They set up the warehouse to make sure when Red bumped into the shelf that the hammer fell. When it missed Platinum, they took advantage of the distraction to pick it up and kill her themself. Second case. At some point the Joey and the mastermind decided to switch roles, setting up a perfect bait and switch. From there the murder was executed, but Joey was the one killed. The killer then set up the scene to frame me.” Silver explained. 

 

Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for him to make the big reveal. 

 

“The mastermind is none other that the one who faked their own death and hid in the shadows. Monokuma's puppet master is none other than the real Gold. There's nowhere to run, the jig is up!”

 

Monokuma stood there slumped over, dead silent. 

 

Green frowned. “What's wrong? Pretending to be broken?”

 

Sapphire growled. “Quit messing around! We got you cornered!”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “Give it up Gold. It's over.”

 

The bear looked up again with a dark chuckle. “...Over? I have to disagree… There's still so much to go!” he said as smoke filled the room. 

 

With a burst of air the smoke cleared and Gold stood where Monokuma once was, hands on his hips almost triumphantly. 

 

“Finally! I've been waiting for clever people like you to arrive!”


	48. Mister Mastermind's Many Faces

Everyone stared at Gold with varying levels of shock. They all knew it was coming, but at the same time there was an unexpected element to the arrival. Plus there was the fact that his appearance meant that it was time to face their biggest challenge. The mastermind himself. 

 

Gold grinned. “Long time no see! Let’s get right down to business! Swear your loyalty to us and we’ll give you half the whole world! Status! Honor! The works! What do you say? You going to join us?”

 

Silver raised an eyebrow. “What? No.” 

 

Gold sighed. “Oh, you thought I was serious. Sorry, I was just messing around… It's been too long since I've had an audience, so I don't know what role to play anymore…” he said dully. 

 

No one knew how to react. It was like the Gold that offered them half the world and the Gold speaking now were two completely different people. It was almost frightening, as if he was trying to “choose” a personality. It was worlds apart from the Gold they met when they first arrived. Was that a false persona too? Another mask to hide his true nature? What was his real personality to begin with? It was hard to tell anymore. 

 

The heir frowned. That didn’t matter. Why was he thinking so hard about it? Then the realization came just a little too late for his liking. This was the mastermind. This unpredictable, ever changing person who was supposed to be dead a few minutes ago was behind everything. There was no way to deny that he was a very dangerous person to trifle with. Not that he was afraid, he just had to keep that in mind when planning his next moves. 

 

His thoughts were once again broken by Gold. “You know… You weren't totally correct… Joey and I switched not even two days after the game began...” he mused. 

 

Will frowned. “So that's why you were acting a bit off… Because you were a completely different person…” he said quietly. 

 

“I'm me, and Joey’s Joey. He tried his best, but he couldn't play the role of the Ultimate Breeder either… Even if we were friends since birth…”

 

White looked a little surprised. “Friends since birth?” she said. 

 

“It's an embarrassing cliché I know. I apologize for making you bear witness to it… We had almost a stereotypical older-younger friendship… The younger, loyal and eager to please, that was Joey. The older, clever and charismatic…” the breeder, started, trailing off for a moment. 

 

In an instant he seemed to regain his train of thought with a crazed expression “Was me, Gold! Put together we were the despair duo aka the Ultimate Despair!” he finished accompanied by maniacal laughter. 

 

Black was visibly startled. “Woah, he's a completely different person now!” he said nervously. 

 

Gold laughed. “I get bored pretty easily! Hell, I got fucking bored of myself!” 

 

Lance frowned. “If what you say is true… You killed your childhood friend?” 

 

“For reasons more complicated than the farthest cosmos! Ha! Yeah right!” the mastermind laughed. He then looked serious, almost intellectual. “I suppose an explanation is in order.”

 

“For the plan to go smoothly, someone had to be behind the scenes controlling Monokuma and keeping an eye on all of you. However, barely after things started to move along, he proved to be incapable of completing such important tasks. So I decided to take his place as director and have him take my place as the breeder. As time went on it became clear that he couldn't pass as me for so long. Anyone would expect him to be killed off eventually. And that's why I killed him. To meet expectations.”

 

Everyone was stunned silent for a long moment. They looked unsure how to react to such a story. Silver didn't blame them. It was a very...out there explanation. He frowned a little. “You sacrificed your first and closest friend just to meet so called ‘expectations’… How are you not bothered by this?!” he said almost out of nowhere. 

 

Gold shifted to a much...cutesier persona. “Huh? I sacrificed him? That's what's got you so mad? Misunderstandings are sooooooo messy!”

 

“We're Ultimate Despair remember? We never had hope or ideals, so we don't care whether we die or kill! When we do something, we go all the way and live with no regrets!” 

 

White frowned deeply. “So you just murdered him and thought nothing about it?”

 

Gold suddenly looked extremely depressed. Hell, there were even tears, probably fake, in his eyes. “No… That’s not true… He was my closest friend… How could I not be sad..? That’s why it feels amazing… That kind of despair… You can’t help but put a mega in front of it. Like mega mega mega despair… No, mega mega mega mega mega mega mega mega despair…”

 

It was a fair guess to say that Silver wasn’t the only one who shuddered inwardly listening to him.

 

“Joey too… When he died he must’ve felt that despair… To be murdered by your own friend for no apparent reason… I’m so jealous…”

 

Green narrowed his eyes. “What is wrong with you? Turning despair into some sick addiction? Freak of nature doesn’t even begin to describe it.” 

 

Suddenly Gold was holding Monokuma in front of his face. “Upupupu~ You got half the case, I’m the killer! Don’t celebrate just yet, you still have to figure out the rest!”

 

Silver huffed. “We’ll solve all the mysteries, and we’ll win.”

 

Gold was probably grinning behind the bear. “Upupupu let’s see what you got!”


	49. A Despair Filled Recap

Will hummed. “So what we need to do now is uncover the mystery of our memories correct?” he questioned. 

 

Silver nodded. “Exactly. We’re supposed to figure out what memories were taken from us and then the school’s mysteries should unravel for us.” he answered. He couldn’t help but hear Sapphire mutter something like “No pressure”. 

 

Black looked unusually serious. “Right, then let’s get right to it! What memories did you take?!” he demanded, glaring right at Gold, who stayed completely silent.

 

White thought for a second. “The photos and the interviews… Our missing memories must have something to do with our first day here!” she concluded. Again Gold answered the statement with dead silence. 

 

“Come on, not even a hint?!” Sapphire huffed. 

 

Gold chuckled. “Man, your brains are about as leaky as a strainer! I already gave you a hint! Your memories have to do with a few other things!”

 

Silver frowned. “A few other things?” he repeated. He then stopped to think about it for a second. “You mean the motives right? The motives have to do with our memories?” he questioned after a minute.

 

The mastermind returned to a dull, serious personality. “I knew you’d remember. I apologize deeply for my rude assumption that you’d forget. Now then, would you tell me what the theme of the motive leading to Lack-Two’s murder?” 

 

“It was related to interpersonal relationships, wasn’t it?”

 

“Correct. I took your dearest relationships and ruined them. Then I provided you with the results. What a terrible thing to do.”

 

Sapphire growled. “You’re the one that did it!”

 

The cutesy persona returned. “Okay, second question! Um… What was the theme of the next motive?”

 

Silver huffed. “That one was betrayal wasn't it?”

 

Gold giggled. “Ding ding ding! Telling you guys someone was working against you was to sneak a little distrust between you guys!”

 

Green frowned. “How long do you plan on dragging this out?”

 

“Geez relaaaaax, just one more question!” Gold said before going to that maniac of a personality. “Alright! What was the motive for Joey’s crazy ass death?!” 

 

Silver sighed. “I hardly think it counts since you were the culprit.”

 

“Just answer the fucking question!”

 

“Fine. That had to do with drastic changes didn't it?”

 

“Alright, seek and destroy! Got it again!”

 

Green still looked annoyed. “What's the point in asking this now?”

 

Gold looked intellectual again. Why couldn't he just pick a personality and stick to it?! “You see, those motives were completely average. Basic, simple motives. In fact, there are so many reasons to kill that it could equal the number of people on the planet. They drive people to kill, which spreads despair throughout the world. We call it the egg of despair.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Egg of despair?”

 

“Like living things need warmth, food, and water to survive, the egg of despair also needs sustenance. That sustenance takes the form of hope. Two sides of the same coin, divided by a razor thin line. That is hope and despair. One cannot exist without the other.”

 

White frowned. “Why are you trying to change the subject? We're supposed to be discussing our memories.”

 

Gold faintly sighed. “If you were listening you'd realize I'm no changing the subject. What I'm trying to get at is that your memories are closely linked to the egg of despair.”

 

“How?”

 

“By taking your memories I gave you hope. That hope only existed to be consumed by despair.”

 

Sapphire scowled. “Taking our memories doesn't give us hope!”

 

Gold hummed. “You wanted to escape didn't you? The fact that that was your desire proves that I provided you with hope.”

 

Will frowned. “So if I'm understanding this correctly… If you hadn't taken our memories, we wouldn't want to leave?”

 

Gold held Monokuma in front of his face again. “Exactamundo!”

 

“Why would us having our memories make us want to stay?” Lance questioned suddenly. 

 

Gold chuckled. “Troubling isn't it? But I want more despair! So just like a coupon slashing prices and giving you sweet savings, I'll give you guys a hint!”

 

Black looked surprised. “Wait for real?”

 

“Like my mother always said, seeing is believing! I'd like you all to see the outside world! I wanna see too! See your faces sink into despair! Ready? Open sesame! Behold!The world beyond the school walls!” 

 

Just as Gold said that, the screens around the trail room flickered to life.


	50. Time Dies

Everyone looked up at the screens, unsure what to expect. There was a silent consensus that whatever it was couldn't be good. No, it was probably very, very bad. 

 

Sometimes Silver hated being right. 

 

The scene looked almost like one from an apocalyptic action movie. National monuments were refitted to resemble Monokuma. A ginormous Monokuma was seen tearing down a building probably 30 stories high with one punch. People ran around in burning streets wearing Monokuma's face as a mask, destroying everything in sight. It seemed like the “mascot” for this hellish display was the two-toned bear they'd come to despise. 

 

Silver was just as shocked as the others. “What is..?” he muttered. 

 

“The world became so dangerous… That's what this means…” Gold said, his depressed persona deciding to come out again. 

 

“This makes no sense! What am I even looking at?!” Black said, the fear evident in his tone. 

 

Lance nodded. “My thoughts exactly. This is from some movie isn't it?”

 

Gold sighed. “What's on the screen… You guys should recognize it… That place is hidden in your missing memories… Try to do your best and recall…” 

 

Silver frowned. What exactly was he asking them to remember? 

 

The maniac persona appeared now. “Hop to it! You guys better kick your brain in the ass cause it's up to that little blob of goop whether you live or die!” he laughed. “‘I don't remember’ ain't gonna work now! It's time to kick the final class trial into full gear!”

 

Sapphire frowned. “I don't understand a damn thing!”

 

Green looked thoughtful. “What does the footage mean..? Is this another joke?!”

 

White looked concerned. “You want us to remember… but what are we even supposed to be remembering?”

 

Will silently gulped. “If no one remembers it's the end for all of us!”

 

Silver then got an idea. “Wait! In the library, there was a small book about something called ‘The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Despair Inducing Event In Human History’. Is that what we're supposed to remember?” 

 

Lance looked at him. “Care to elaborate?”

 

“Right. The book said that it was a despair filled, man made event that swept the globe like a natural disaster. In almost no time at all the world fell into endless chaos.”

 

Black frowned. “That's it?! There wasn't a concrete detail in there!”

 

“It just so happens the book didn't have any details. You think I wouldn't have told you if I knew anything more?”

 

Gold was back to plain and dull. “It doesn't matter exactly what happened right now does it? In the end the world was destroyed a year ago, however it started.”

 

Silver frowned. “What? That doesn't make sense! We only came here a few weeks ago!The world was totally normal then!”

 

Suddenly Gold was in high and mighty mode. “Are you sure you're not mistaken about that?”

 

Green huffed. “Stop with these stupid games!”

 

“What's this? A peasant challenging the very avatar of divine punishment? You need to learn your place!”

 

White cut in. “Back to the matter at hand, what do you mean we're mistaken?”

 

Gold held Monokuma in front of him. “If I'm understanding you right, you think you guys got here a few weeks ago!”

 

“Well, yeah, that's how it happened!”

 

“I get it! So what you're saying is that you think what happened two years ago happened more recently!”

 

Black looked surprised again. “Two years ago?”

 

“Yep! You guys started coming to this school two years ago!”


	51. Culminating Despair

Two years ago?

 

Sapphire laughed nervously. “Okay… What the hell is this guy trying to say?”

 

Gold was all intellectual again. “You must understand the hints I've given you, yes? Now tell me, what were the memories I took from you?”

 

Silver frowned in thought. “You took our school memories didn't you?”

 

Sapphire shook her head. “What? No. No way. Not buying it. No way.”

 

Gold snickered. “Another right answer. Well done.”

 

White looked frightened now. “We lost two years of memories..?”

 

“Correct! You've spent two years here! And that's precisely what you forgot!”

 

Will frowned. “We forgot the last two years of our lives..?”

 

“Haha! You guys got the mystery just about solved but it's like a damn funeral in here! And I've never been to a funeral! Hell yeah!” Gold cheered before looking dull. “I wonder… How many chances to build friendships did you miss? How many classes? How many fun events? And on top of all that, the Tragedy happened a year ago… The world fell apart… Then you shut yourselves up in here and forgot all about it…”

 

“So that outside world you showed us… Was for real..?” Black said hesitantly. 

 

Gold nodded. “Precisely.”

 

Silver frowned. “You hijacked the airways didn't you? How else would you be able to show us that?”

 

“Of course. And it worked the other way too. Showing the world the murders in a school meant to foster hope? That's the greatest climax. Despair is like a disease. Anyone with hope eventually catches despair and falls into its clutches.”

 

The group was quiet, just letting it sink in. It was too unbelievable, too outrageous to be believed. No, they had to believe it, or it would be the end. 

 

“You know, since we started broadcasting, there were some people trying to come rescue you. Thanks to the heavy weaponry installed outside, it was easy to eliminate them. They were pests trying to force their beliefs of hope on the world.”

 

White shuddered slightly. “Y-you eliminated them..?”

 

Silver frowned. “You used us to bring the rest of the world despair?”

 

“I chose you to survive. It's a give and take. You're my treasured friends, we made two years of memories together. Actually… that's a lie. So what do you believe? You know the truth! Does it fill you with despair?”

 

Lance looked up. “You meant for us to find out the truth didn't you?”

 

“This whole world of despair was to lead to this last class trial. See? The truth doesn't always leave a sense of hope. The truth can be fucking loaded with despair!”

 

Silver growled a tiny bit. “You’re saying this is the truth and all, but we have no reason to believe anything you say!”

 

Gold looked confused. “What?”

 

“You say the world ended, but I didn’t see it myself! I don’t acknowledge any of that as the truth!”

 

“Truth and lies mix together when you haven’t seen it in person. If so, what then? You’re saying you won’t accept reality until you see it for yourself? I advise against it. You step outside and you’re all goners!”

 

“Even if it’s true, I’m not going to lose to someone like you!”

 

“Such stubbornness… Is that your ‘hope’? We can’t drag this back and forth on forever… We need to draw this case to a close, wouldn’t you agree?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“The vote! You didn’t forget about that did you? Since this is that last vote, I’m changing things up a little! You full of hope, me full of despair, it’s time for you guys to decide which gets punished! If you all vote to punish despair, I’ll punish myself! If even one of you votes to punish hope, you’ll all go down like one big happy dead family!”

 

White flinched. “Even if it’s just one of us..?”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not voting.”

 

Silver stayed calm. “It’s fine. No one will vote to kill themselves right?”

 

“My punishment for you guys is to grow old and die peacefully!”

 

Black looked a bit more relaxed. “Ah, that’s all?”

 

“Either way we’re screwed!” Silver cut it.

 

“Wait wait wait! I just got inspiration! If you punish hope, it’d be pretty boring to have no exciting punishment right? Just one person will get a super awesome punishment! And that one person will be...Silver! Maybe you should consider being nicer to your captor next time around huh?”

 

“What?”

 

“You guys got two choices! Sacrifice Silver and you guys are guaranteed your lives! Punish me and you’re guaranteed horrible deaths!”

 

Silver couldn’t help but feel his slight shaking. 

 

“What’s wrong? Cold feet? Don’t you have faith in your friends?”

 

“Of course I trust them!”

 

“You’re not wrong to be afraid. It seems everyone realized how pointless it is to go against me.”

 

Silver stopped to look around, unable to help but see the hopeless looks on their faces.

 

“Guys..?”


	52. Repairing Hope

Gold looked depressed to match the mood. “Isn't it amazing? The despair eating at everyone’s faces… Besides, Green, you could never betray the old man could you?”

Green looked up. “What?” 

“His wish was for everyone to survive. That's why he trapped everyone inside. It'd be total betrayal to condemn everyone to a gruesome death in the outside world.”

Green grit his teeth but looked down a little. 

Silver frowned. “Green…”

“Haha! One person despairing is enough to seal your fate for good! How fucking hopeless is that?!” Gold laughed. “So whose despair will sign your death certificate?!”

“No one’s giving in to despair! We're not going to lose!” 

Gold sighed. “Still stubborn as ever huh? Then let's end this. Everything will end. Your stubbornness, your pointless hope, your life!”

Silver frowned. He looked over at the faces of dismay. He had to get them to remember their hope. He had to convince them to keep pushing forward. How would he do it though?

Alright, one at a time. 

“Will. Are you going to give in that fast?”

Will frowned. “My mind’s eye is telling me not to leave… Ugh! What is there to do?!”

“It'll be hard, it'll be scary, but for the sake of the future you have to face these things. To push forward in the face of adversity… Isn't that what it means to live?!” 

The psychic was frozen for a minute. “I...You're right. What was I thinking?”

Gold hummed. “By the way, the pollution is crazy out there. The only reason we're okay is cause of the air purifiers. If you kill me, they'll stop working.”

He turned to Sapphire. “What was your idea on the world again? When the path is rough, walk on with courage right? Taking the hits as they come, then getting up with a smile right? Are you going to turn your back on that now?!”

Sapphire huffed. “Of course not. I'm not a baby!”

Gold frowned. “If the purifiers stop working, your peaceful life will come to an abrupt end.”

Silver then looked to Black. “Hey, you live for the next big adventure don't you? Think about it. A world that seems to be pulled apart? That's all kinds of new terrain! It'll be the biggest adventure you could ask for! And on top of all that, you'll have us with you when things get tough!”

Black thought for a moment. “I do love a good adventure… I've made up my mind! Let's bust open those doors and see what's out there!”

Gold crossed his arms. “You'll all be forced out there. Into a world where death and destruction are the only certainties.”

The heir looked to White. “You dreamed of a world where everyone could come together for a common good right? What happened to that? You heard Gold, there are people out there who still want that! We'll escape, and we'll help fix the world! For now and the future!” 

White was quiet for a moment before humming. “Right… We can do it… We'll fix everything so no one has to experience this again!”

Gold sighed. “You guys aren't seriously going to lay your lives down cause of the ramblings of some suicidal maniac, are you?”

Silver ignored him and looked at Lance, who cut him off before he even said anything. 

“You weren't planning on giving me a pep talk were you? I'm a big boy, I won't fall to some child’s despair.”

Silver sighed in slight relief. “Got it.” he said thoughtfully. 

Gold huffed. “So what will you guys do? Just lay down and die? Is that really what you want?”

Finally Silver looked to Green. 

“Green… Your grandfather made the school a shelter to help us… he was trying to protect us from despair. Now we need to follow through on his wishes and end despair right here!”

Green looked up after a moment of thought. “You know… We don’t know what he was thinking, and we certainly can’t ask now… But I’m sure abandoning hope to live here isn’t what he’d have wanted… I think I get your talent now. Confronting despair without giving up… I think what you’re heir of is hope itself. I think it’d be fitting to call you that. Ultimate Hope. Huh, it has a nice ring to it.”

Gold looked confused again. “W-what the? What are you people?! Your stupid expressions! Your stupid naive comradery! Your stupid notions of hope! It’s disgusting! Just stop it already!”

Silver looked at him. “We’re never going to stop. The threat of despair isn’t going to hold us back anymore.”

“You’re so stupid!”

“There’s nothing you can say that will change our minds.”

Gold growled. “Despair on your lives! Despair on your lost memories! Despair on the unknown future! Despair on every second you have left on this planet!”

Silver frowned. “We won’t give up on the world just because it seems rough. If despair spreads like a disease, let’s make hope do the same. We’ll be the first patients.”

Gold now looked absolutely baffled. “What is happening!?!”


	53. The Final Vote

Will looked around. “So all we gotta do is flip the switch right?”

Black smiled. “Alright! I’m ready to go!”

White hummed. “Nothing will keep us from our victory now.”

Green huffed. “Let’s get this going. I’m ready to get out of this place already.”

With that seven votes were cast. Like that, hope had its victory. No, more like its first victory. Once they leave, there’re bound to be more victories. They’d make sure of it. There was nothing to keep them down. Whatever despair might come their way, they were willing to face it together. Together, like they had been from the start of this messed up situation. Together, the way the'd end it and leave the school once and for all.

The screens declared the official voting count. Hope won, and there was no way around it. Gold frowned. “The hell?”

Lance huffed. “Gold, you lost.”

“Me? I lost? No way!”

Will frowned. “What? You still can’t accept defeat? Perhaps even the Ultimate Despair isn’t immune to such despair after all.”

Green looked to the defeated mastermind. “So how does it feel, losing after all that scheming?”

Gold was silent for a moment before hugging himself and chuckling lowly. He looked like he was in a state of some sick euphoria. “It feels… absolutely amazing!”

Silver frowned. “What?”

“We came here two years ago, we made such a detailed plan. Hell, I killed my childhood friend to make it succeed. For it all to fall apart like this… This is truly what it means to feel despair!”

“What do you mean..?”

“This world was boring since the moment I came into it. That’s why I’m so excited! The once in a lifetime experience… Finally! The ultimate despair of death! To have that kind of despair… I’m getting so excited thinking about it!”

Silver looked as surprised as anyone else. “Hold on, it’s not like we want you to die. You don’t have-”

“Shut up! I see no hope in staying on this planet a minute longer! Don’t try to take this despair from me!”

Everyone was frozen in shock at Gold’s unyielding desire to execute himself. Was his addiction to despair really that intense? There was nothing they could do about it. Just as they chose to stay forever aligned with hope, Gold chose to feel every taste of despair he could find. 

Gold’s hand hovered over the big red button, his eyes swirling with what could only be described as madness. “Haha… This is death’s despair… Even a tenth of this despair… I want every living being on the planet to feel this level of hopelessness! Come on baby, it’s go time. I’ve been a real bad boy~ Let’s give it everything we got! It’s punishment time~!” 

With that he pressed the button down and walked almost excitedly into his own execution.

CONGRATULATIONS! 

GOLD HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!


	54. Super High School Level Punishment

Gold stood with a grin, hugging Monokuma to his chest. It was unbelievable to think that there could be someone who was so excited at the idea of their own death. There were loud clunking and banging sounds as the “materials” for the execution settled into place around him. For some reason it all looked ominously familiar… Almost like they were from the past punishments. Would Gold really recycle old executions to punish himself? On second thought, that was pretty likely given his apparent love of climactic irony. The question now was whether he’d do it in chronological order.

 

It looked like he would. 

 

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

 

He stood in the middle of the speakers, the onslaught of noise and flying blades in full swing. He didn’t move, he didn’t try to make it stop, nothing. He just stood there with a stupid grin on his face as if he were enjoying this. When he was covered in countless thin cuts that were already dripping blood it switched to the next punishment. 

 

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

 

The trees towered over the Ultimate Despair as he walked right into danger. It was almost astonishing his little he valued his own safety. Actually, his death seemed like a higher priority to him. It was scary that there was even one person on the planet that was like this. What if there really were more out there? What would they do about that?

 

The wolves appeared right on schedule. Gold didn’t stop, didn’t turn back, anything. He walked right at them even as they sprang. Their teeth sunk into his flesh without hesitation, appearing as ravenous as they were the first time they appeared. How infrequently were they actually fed? Before the wolves could kill, the scene switched yet again. 

 

SNOW ON MOUNT SILVER

 

The mountain rose into view as wind, likely artificial, howled. Gold was simply sitting on the ledge, legs dangling over the edge. The avalanche came in record time, the ice and snow beating on the mastermind as he sat happily on the rock. The whole scenario became more concerning as it unfolded, simply because Gold seemed to be loving the painful situation he was in. The scene changed. 

 

RED VELVET

 

He dropped right into the bowl of dry ingredients, a puff of white flying into the air. A spoon was whipping around, slamming into everything it touched as it mixed the bowl’s contents. What was the point of going through this exercise? He could've just picked one execution and went with it. Why go through them all?

 

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

 

Finally he was in the pressure plate trap. Gold didn't try to avoid them. Actually, he seemed more intent on seeking them out. Arrows rained down, metal balls shot past, saws buzzed by, spears shot out from all angles, the works. Gold was a mess. He was cut up, bitten, beat up, but still he had that stupid grin. He seemed to be in some sick state of euphoria. 

 

Something new finally appeared. 

 

PUNISHMENT TIME

 

Gold stood on a round platform, once again hugging Monokuma to his chest. He waved at the “crowd” as if knowing that whatever he did here would be the death of him. A massive Monokuma sat behind him a few yards off. It wasn't certain what would happen until the sitting bear produced a giant gavel from out of nowhere. It brought the gavel down, crushing Gold with a sickening crunching sound. 

 

It was over. The game was over. The mastermind was dead. No more killing, no more class trials. They could leave. The world outside was waiting for them. 

 

The exit would be nothing short of sweet, no matter what was out there.


	55. The End of the Beginning

Silver watched as the fence opened, giving the survivors access to the execution site. He went in alone to get closer. There was a remote with a red button lying in the blood. The heir, no hope, picked it up, looking at it thoughtfully. This button would lead to their great escape into the vast, mysterious outside world of hope and despair. 

 

It wasn't long before he regained the others and headed up the elevator for the last time. He wasn't going to miss this at all. He didn't know if he'd ever look at elevators the same way again, but it didn't matter too much. He held the remote tight in his hand without thinking about it. It was as if he thought he'd lose it if he didn't hold it tight enough. 

 

No one spoke as they moved towards the main entrance. The door that once was a glaring reminder of their captivity was now powerless to stop them. The power was in their hands. No black and white Build-A-Bear reject from hell would appear to stop them; its controller was dead. The guns over the doors, meant to deter them from attempting escape, were now little more than morbid ornaments. 

 

They stood in front of it, staring at the huge iron barrier meant to keep them in. Green was the first to break the silence. “What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here.” he commented, giving a voice to the excited impatience running through the group. 

 

White smiled. “This might sound cheesy, but I guess you could call this our graduation. Congrats everyone.” she said, the nervous excitement evident in her voice. There might have normally been someone with a sarcastic remark in response to such a sentimental remark, but everyone seemed too relieved about their newfound freedom to care how lame or sentimental they sounded. 

 

Silver flipped up the cover that was over the button. “Whatever happens out there, we're going to be alright if we stick together. Let's see what we're up against.” he said decisively, pressing the button down.

 

A slight tremor shook the floor as the door started to move for the first time in who knows how long. They stayed where they were as the first rays of light from the outside came in. It was just sunlight, but it was sweeter than that. It was the sign of a new chapter in their lives. A chapter that didn’t involve killing their friends in search of escape. A chapter that they would write for themselves, however they wanted. The future was in their hands now. 

 

When the door opened the seven looked at each other with silent, reassuring expressions to spur on anyone who might have last minute fears. Even Silver had to admit he was nervous. The world outside was a massive place, and there was no guarantee that what they’d find out there would be pleasant. Even still, they had to go. They couldn’t stay any longer, their urge to finally get the freedom they deserved all along pushing them forward. 

 

With high spirits they took their first step into the unknown.

 

This was the end of their school life, but the beginning of something even bigger.

 

Survivors: 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all you guys that read this to the end, thanks so much for sticking with me 'till the end! I hope you guys had as much fun reading it as I did writing it, and a quick little sorry for killing off characters you liked. 
> 
> With that, PD out.


End file.
